Convicted judge Kažys asks Supreme Court to overturn bribery conviction

Viktoras Kažys, a judge convicted of bribery, has asked Lithuania’s Supreme Court to overturn his conviction, LRT reported.

The court has received a cassation appeal from Kažys’ defence lawyer, asking it to overturn the part of the Court of Appeal’s ruling that found him guilty of bribery and reinstate the lower court’s acquittal, Supreme Court spokeswoman Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė told news agency ELTA. The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to accept the appeal.

On September 14, the Court of Appeal found that Kažys had promised to accept a €10,000 bribe in exchange for acquitting several people. He was sentenced on one count and fined €12,500, but acquitted on another count.

President Gitanas Nausėda has signed a decree asking parliament to approve Kažys’ dismissal from his position, citing the final conviction and conduct that discredited the office of judge. Kažys has asked the Judicial Council not to rush the dismissal decision and to wait for the Supreme Court to consider his case.

Kažys was convicted in the same corruption case as then-Druskininkai Mayor Ričardas Malinauskas. The Court of Appeal overturned a part of a Kaunas Regional Court ruling from April last year that had acquitted Kažys of bribery.

In February 2019, Kažys, other judges and lawyers were detained as part of a large-scale investigation into corruption in the legal system. His judicial powers have been suspended, and he has not heard cases since his detention. After lengthy proceedings, judges, lawyers, assistants and businesspeople were convicted; most received fines, with more than €500,000 in total due to be paid to the state budget.