The leader of an enraged gang in Vilnius: I felt crushed

A Vilnius resident who has estimated his experiences in the amount of 15 thousand euros will receive 2,000 euros from the Lithuanian state budget. EUR. This was decided by the Supreme Court of Lithuania (LAT), which makes final and unappealable decisions.

“Excessively lengthy proceedings cause non-pecuniary damage, which is described as a state of uncertainty and concern about the outcome of the proceedings,” said a three-judge panel that Lenkovskis, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for various serious crimes, suffered.

In awarding non-pecuniary damages to one of the leaders of a prominent criminal group, the court noted that Lenkovskis’ claim stated that “due to the excessive length of the process, he had lived under constant tension, uncertainty about his fate and uncertainty about the outcome. of the criminal process “.

“I felt crushed,” did not hide K. Lenkovskis, one of the leaders of the Lapinai gang, when he went to court.

“The panel of judges agrees that such inconveniences and experiences should be considered as non-pecuniary damage, but when deciding the amount of damages compensated, its causal relationship with illegal actions of the court should be assessed,” emphasized the SCL. – It should be noted that in the present case the State is civilly liable for the excessive duration of the criminal proceedings before the appeal court, but not for the initiation of the proceedings or the preventive measures taken against the plaintiff, for which reason the panel considers that the Applicant should be held liable in this case. 2 thousand Compensation for moral damage. This amount, in the opinion of the panel of judges, complies with the constitutional principle of just compensation for damages and the criteria for determining non-pecuniary damage applied by the court in such cases, the imperatives of equity, justice and reasonableness ”.

The Vilnius city district and regional courts, which had previously examined K. Lenkovskis’ claim, had taken an unfavorable decision. However, the SCL took into account the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR): the criminal process against K. Lenkovskis lasted almost eight years, which is considered a very long process and can only be justified in exceptional cases.

Addressing the court for damages due to the excessive length of the criminal proceedings, K. Lenkovskis pointed out that not only he but also his family had experienced spiritual experiences: rhythm, I felt crushed.

According to the data of the case, it was established that in 2014. In May, by ruling of the Vilnius Regional Court, K. Lenkovskis was found guilty of participating in a criminal organization armed with firearms, whose members illegally possessed a large quantity of narcotics and psychotropic substances with the aim of distributing them. as well as 15 home repairs.

Three years later, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal reversed the judgment of the court of first instance, reclassified some acts, acquitted K. Lenkovskis of some of them, but kept the same custodial sentence. The convicted person appealed on cassation against this sentence, but the SCL refused to accept the appeal.

At that time, after examining the criminal case of other convicts, the SCL decided to reduce their sentences to half a year due to the established violation of the right to trial in the shortest possible time.

The court, which lessened the sentences of those convicted, emphasized that the criminal case of the Lapinai group was exceptionally complicated due to the commission of serious crimes through a criminal association, in addition, up to 32 people were prosecuted and the case The file consisted of 138 volumes. The judges also noted that the judgment of the court of first instance was only 480 pages and that of the court of appeals was 197 pages.

“In a case of this nature, scope and complexity, a longer than usual duration of the procedure can be justified, but only if the public authorities respond appropriately to the complexity of the case and take all reasonable measures to keep the procedures as long as possible. expeditious as possible. “- The SCL emphasized that such measures had been taken by state authorities, but the organization of the process as a whole was not entirely adequate in the appeals court.

Although the sentences were reduced for the other convicted persons, K. Lenkovskis was unable to reduce the period of imprisonment: the convicted person again requested the SCL to reopen the criminal case and commute the sentence, but the judges rejected his sentence. statement, indicating that the duration of the criminal proceedings in court was justified by the complexity of the criminal case.

At that time, after examining the claim for damages, the panel of judges of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court observed that the complaints of other convicts were satisfied and that the unreasonably long duration of the proceedings due to the organization Inadequate procedures in the court of appeals was established.

“There are grounds to establish a violation of K. Lenkovskis’ right to a trial in the shortest possible time due to the faulty organization of the proceedings in the appeals court,” the court stated.

According to the judges, the criminal process in the appeals court, which lasted 2 years and 5 months, was not intense enough.

“Due to the excessive duration of the process in the criminal case, the damage caused to K. Lenkovskis was not compensated with the commutation of the sentence, so the question of compensation for such violation must be considered in the civil process, of the opposite with respect to the people involved in the case, which would not be in accordance with the principle of equality of people before the law, ”emphasized the judges.

In the case of the Lapinai group, the court has found 23 of the 33 people prosecuted guilty. Justas Belousov, nicknamed Lapin, who is considered the leader of the gang, has been officially wanted for many years, but until now officials have no knowledge of where the man is hiding. A European arrest warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The court noted that the evidence gathered in the case had indisputably established that there was a very well organized Lapinai criminal association in Vilnius, and that a hierarchical order had been established within it.

The goal of the gang is to trade in narcotic and psychotropic substances and expand to make as much profit as possible. The drugs were mainly obtained from one source, the gang had its own rules, such as not taking drugs from others, not borrowing, not diluting drugs, having multiple phones and SIM cards, constantly changing them, avoiding voice recordings, reporting problems or conflicts . top links and so on.

Gang leaders aimed to involve as many people as possible in drug distribution to maximize profits. Evidence suggests that when dealers got into debt, gang leaders ordered the use of any means of violence to collect the debt.

Several members of the group had firearms. During the search, bulletproof vests, baseball bats and knives were found. The axes were used to commit individual crimes.

The totality of the data collected in the case shows that the purpose of the gang was to acquire, sell and distribute very large quantities of prohibited substances without permission to acquire and use weapons, extort assets, illegally deprive them of liberty, injure debtors, harm property of other people, etc.

“The activities of all gang commanders and members were well coordinated and directed towards the common goal: for profit, crimes were committed according to pre-established plans, with the media, avoiding exposing, involving other people in crimes, “the court said. set.

The transfer of the drug was carried out as follows: the drug packages were dropped to the ground in advance, money was taken from the merchant for drugs previously received and sold, and the eyes, look or gesture indicated where there was the drug package. Other times, narcotic or psychotropic substances were left in previously discussed hiding places, usually after money left. An insulating material that does not leave fingerprints was used for the packaging of medicines. The hiding places were changed frequently.

Regarding participation in the activities of the criminal association, none of the defendants admitted their guilt and explained to the court that they did not participate in the activities of the gang, but learned about the Lapinai gang from investigators, prosecutors or media. Some defendants said they were unaware of the charges against them and of the gang’s existence prior to the hearings.