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The sentences were reduced for two convicts and increased for the rest.
It also satisfied nearly 11 million. civil action for compensation for pecuniary damage to the State of Lithuania
“The court found that the 67 people accused in the case followed the policies of the supreme government of the USSR and the CPSU, tried to return Lithuania to the USSR and, to that end, organized a military operation, recklessly using force against the people Lithuanian civilians, killing and injuring them in another way, “Judge Ernestas Rimšelis said at the hearing.
“All the accused and convicted in the case, acting as accomplices, deliberately and systematically attacked civilians, persecuted them for political and national reasons, murdered them, seriously disturbed their health, aggression and international armed violence in compliance with the policies of another state, the USSR and the CPSU killed people protected by international humanitarian law during the conflict, inhumanely treated people protected by international humanitarian law, seriously injured them, used means of intimidation and terror, illegally restrained and deprived them of his freedom, ordered and carried out a war attack against civilians prohibited by international humanitarian law, in violation of Lithuania the provisions of international treaties and universally recognized national customs on military measures, ordered the use and use of prohibited military means in military operations ”, he emphasized.
The sentence was changed to 16 convicts.
As reported at the hearing by Judge E. Rimšelis, who chaired the panel that heard the case, the complaints of two convicted persons, the complaint of the Attorney General’s Office and the complaint of the victims Robertas and Ona Povilaitis were partially satisfied after the examination of the case.
Ivanov was sentenced to a combined imprisonment of five years. In an earlier decision, he was sentenced to four years in prison.
The court increased Yuri Mel’s prison term from seven years by three years and sentenced him to a cumulative prison term of ten years.
Mr. Mel’s sentence also included the seven years that he had been detained and voluntarily serving a sentence previously unpunished, for which he would have to serve almost three more years in prison.
“After examining the case, the court concluded that these two convicts were sentenced to significantly lesser sentences than other soldiers in the tank crews,” the judge emphasized.
According to E. Rimšelis, it is obvious that this was probably done only because they were the only ones involved in the judicial process.
Speaking of G. Ivanov, the judge noted that he, the leader of a group of four tanks, had been sentenced by the court of first instance to the same punishment as the tank drivers and ordinary users who carried out his orders.
According to E. Rimšelis, the situation was the same with J. Melis: the court had sentenced him to seven years in prison, when the user of his tank was sentenced to ten years in prison.
In total, the Court of Appeals commuted the sentences of 16 of the 67 convicted in the case, with the sentences commuted to only two of them.
Ten convicts were sentenced to ten years in prison.
The harshest sentence in the case, 15 years in prison, has been imposed on Vasily Kustry, commander of the 234th Regiment of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division, who not only participated in the planning of the orders but also led the occupation of the Press House, injuring at least one person.
E. Rimšelis also reported that the part of the previous court ruling relating to civil claims, which were rejected or not resolved by the first court decision, is being modified.
They jointly sentenced victim Robert Povilaitis to 50,000. EUR, Ona Povilaitiene – 75 thousand. 10.8 million euros for compensation for moral damages, for the State of Lithuania for pecuniary damage ”, announced the judge at the hearing on Wednesday.
The court also overturned the 10-year prison sentence imposed on former Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov after his death last year.
Repeated arguments of the condemned – rejected
Speaking of the recurring arguments in the complaints of the lawyers representing the convicted persons, E. Rimšelis reviewed them and commented on why those arguments were rejected.
“In the first place, doubts arose as to whether the Lithuanian courts could hear such cases. The College dispelled such doubts,” he said.
According to him, the second issue raised in the complaints concerns the validity of the provisions of the Penal Code and the fact that the laws under which the sentences were handed down were not passed until 2011.
“The general principle of the law, both internationally and in Lithuania, is that no stricter law is applied retroactively. However, both international and Lithuanian law emphasize the exception to this principle, that certain crimes can also be punished. by a law that was subsequently adopted, ”said E. Rimšelis.
According to him, the exception is valid when the Penal Code includes provisions that comply with the norms of international law.
Arguments that the court convicted only the executors of the orders, but not the people who gave them, were also examined.
“The court has recognized that the execution of an order may, in fact, be important in deciding responsibility, but this does not negate the question of personal responsibility, it can only be taken into account when deciding what punishment to impose,” stressed the president of the panel.
He also pointed out that the verdict was handed over to officials at different levels and pointed out that they could refuse to carry out the orders because they had to realize that they were completely contrary to the principles of international law and violated human rights.
The judge highlighted that even in the events of January there were people who understood the meaning of the actions and refused to obey the orders.
“They just had to be aware of what they were doing and be aware of what they were doing. They understood perfectly that when firing machine guns, kicking, shooting from tanks near people, driving with tanks through people, they perfectly understood what the consequences would be for people, ”said E. Rimšelis, referring to the actions of the prisoners.
The first decision was two years ago.
On March 27, 2019, the Vilnius Regional Court convicted 67 people of crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced them to between four and 14 years in prison.
Vladimir Uschopchik, a former commander of the Vilnius garrison of the Soviet army, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and a former KGB officer, Mikhail Golovatov, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Most of the defendants were sentenced in absentia because Russia and Belarus refused to extradite them.
The sentence was heard in person at the time by two convicts, Yuriy Melis and Gennady Ivanov. The only defendant arrested, J. Melis, had been sentenced to seven years in prison and G. Ivanov to four years in prison.
The sentence was the subject of 61 unique appeals from 59 convicted persons, prosecutors and victims.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, those convicted were sentenced to excessively lenient sentences, depending on the crimes. According to her, when sentencing seven convicts, the court did not take into account their role in crimes against humanity and war crimes, some of which were sentenced to custodial sentences lower than those established by law.
Also in the complaint, the Prosecutor’s Office requested a statement that the convicts were operating in an organized group, which should be considered an aggravating factor under their responsibility.
Among other things, more than 11 million were ordered. damage to property jointly and severally of all convicts. This damage occurred through the treatment of victims, the installation of memorials, and the management of damaged infrastructure.
In their complaints, the attorneys representing the convicted contested both the facts and the legal arguments of the case and requested their acquittal.
On the night of January 13, 1991, 14 people were killed when Soviet troops stormed the Vilnius television tower and the Radio and Television Committee building.
The Soviets attempted to overthrow the legitimate government of Lithuania by military force, which declared the country’s independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990.
