Kaunas, which shocked the whole of Norway, is a real legal war between Norway and Lithuania

Incredible, but Norwegian prosecutors and judges faced particularly serious obstacles in the offender’s homeland: the Kaunas and Vilnius judges repeatedly sided with A. Gerasimov, thereby constantly evading his imprisonment. But the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office, which complied with requests from the Norwegian police, also did not give up: the Kaunas resident who committed the crimes must be responsible for the crimes committed.

And it was only after the final appeal issued by the Lithuanian Court of Appeal judge, Linas Žukauskas, that the Norwegians finally hoped that a Kaunas resident, who had been out of law enforcement for many years, was sent to a Norwegian prison in 2010. sanctions imposed by the court.

The Lithuanians were beaten: they raped and crushed their fingers with pliers
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A few years ago, the Norwegian and Swedish media surprised their readers with posts about three Lithuanians who sexually exploited prostitutes in Norway: A. Gerasimov, Rolandas Morkeliūnas and Marius Čalka. They housed up to ten girls in one apartment and it was worth serving at least six clients a day. The nine girls affected are Lithuanian.

The sexually exploited girls did not want to obey the conspirators, so they were not only brutally raped but also beaten. The perpetrators were particularly brutal, with Scandinavian media reports showing that some disobedient prostitutes had their fingers smashed with pliers. The girls told authorities that the Lithuanians arrived at their rented apartments pretending to be clients.

Girls trapped by collectors from Eastern Europe have been constantly threatened with great pity if their family escapes or tries to contact law enforcement. But in the end, the girls could not bear it and turned to the Norwegian police for help. But they failed to stop the Lithuanians in Norway – they had already left the country, but were soon trapped in Sweden, where they also managed to stand out when they beat the Swede extremely brutally.

Important evidence was found in the car of the arrested men, which was later used in a criminal case.

Lithuanians committed these crimes in 2004, and then a conviction was issued in a case brought against them, which entered into force only in 2010. In May. A. Gerasimovas was sentenced to two and a half years by the court, and R. Morkeliūnas, considered the leader of the group, was sentenced to four years in prison. At the time, Mr. Chalk was found not guilty by a court and was on mandatory treatment.

The Norwegian court ruled that the Lithuanians had been convicted of seventeen criminal offenses: rape and aid and instigation, personal injury, robbery, robbery and assault. According to the judges, the Lithuanians raped girls who were engaged in prostitution with violence, the victims were beaten not only with their hands, but also with a vacuum cleaner and pliers, and even once a man jumped on the girl’s head .

In addition, they committed many robberies: stolen phones, money, gold jewelry, expensive brand clothing, watches, perfumes, paintings, fur coats. During the two robberies, criminals tied up their victims and left.

Prolonged search for justice

Kaunas’ A. Gerasimov, who had been convicted of various crimes, had thus far avoided the punishment that was imposed on him: he left Norway after the court sentence became effective and was not available to officials. The Norwegians have tried unsuccessfully to find him for years, but have not given up so far: all criminals must be held accountable for their actions.

Back in 2014 In January, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security appealed to the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to solve the problem of serving Gerasimov’s sentence in Lithuanian prisons. The Department of International Law of the Ministry of Justice forwarded this request to the Kaunas District Court, which only one year later, in 2015. In February, the Norwegian side finally granted the request and stated that the convicted resident of Kaunas would have to comply the sentence of one and a half years in prison.

But A. Gerasimov and his lawyer appealed the ruling, after hearing the appeal a few months later, the Kaunas Regional Court referred the case for a new trial, and then the district court declared that Norway’s request could not be granted. because the statute of limitations had expired. And that deadline was 2015. February 15 – if the Norwegian letter received by the Ministry of Justice had been delivered to the court immediately and not a year later, justice might have been possible.

However, Norwegian officials did not give up: in January this year, the Oslo Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for the transfer of Gerasimov to the Kingdom of Norway to serve a 2-year-2-year sentence.

A Norwegian statement received by the Prosecutor General’s Office stated that Gerasimov committed a new offense in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, aggravated robbery, on the expiry of the limitation period for the execution of the sentence, on 6 December 2006.

“The crime was committed before the expiration of the statute of limitations for the enforcement of the Norwegian court verdict, as a result of which the statute of limitations was recalculated,” said Rasa Tunkevičienė, Prosecutor in the Office of the Prosecutor General. – There are also reports that A. Gerasimov avoided serving the prison sentence imposed on him, a search was issued against him, an arrest warrant was issued. In this context, the sentence imposed on Mr. Gerasimov will be considered enforceable, will be subject to a statute of limitations of 15 years from the date it enters into force and may be transferred to the Kingdom of Norway for a sentence of 2 years and 6 months.

He repeated the same thing: the statute of limitations had passed

A. Gerasimov on February 27. He was detained and the court detained him in custody for two months. This period was then extended for another two weeks. During this time, the problem of the new Norwegian application had to be resolved.

After examining the material submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Vilnius Regional Court ruled that A. Gerasimov should remain in Lithuania; In the ruling, the court noted that the Lithuanian courts had already ruled that a Kaunas resident could not be sent to serve a sentence because the statute of limitations had expired.

“The court cannot question the valid judgment of the district court and the same problem regarding the execution of the custodial sentence imposed on A. Gerasimov in the Kingdom of Norway to make the opposite judgment,” said Judge Daiva Kazlauskienė .

However, the Prosecutor General’s Office did not agree with this position: it appealed the ruling to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal. Judge L. Žukauskas, who examined the complaint, announced that A. Gerasimovas would not escape punishment: in the final and final appeal, the judge stated that the Kaunas resident should be sent to Norway to serve his sentence.

The court examined this complaint as a matter of urgency, as the statute of limitations for the execution of the sentence handed down to Mr. Gerasimov under Norwegian law expires on May 10.

The court noted that as of 2019. November 1, the agreement on the delivery procedure between the European Union and Iceland and Norway has entered into force, which states that an arrest warrant is a judicial decision issued by a State for arrest and surrender of a person requested by another State for the purpose of prosecuting or imprisoning; for incarceration.

The judge upholding the prosecutor’s appeal noted that the Vilnius Regional Court, without issuing A. Gerasimov to Norway, had granted an unsubstantiated preliminary decision in 2015. According to the Kaunas court ruling, the Norwegians filed a request to Lithuania to in conformity with the judgment of 1970. Provisions of the European Convention on the international recognition of criminal sentences, and this time under an arrest warrant. Furthermore, in 2015 the case was examined on a different legal basis and on another subject: the convicted person was previously asked to be imprisoned in Lithuania and now in the country where he committed the crimes.

He also committed a crime in the Netherlands.

“From the case file it appears that the Kaunas District Court, in deciding on the recognition and enforcement of a sentence handed down in the Kingdom of Norway, was not aware of data on other criminal offenses committed by Gerasimov, which are essential for calculating the statute of limitations, “said the judge of the appeals court.

According to him, it can be seen in the Register of Suspects, Defendants and Convicts that A. Gerasimov in 2014. April 8 He was sentenced in the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2013 to a fine of 400 euros and, in case of not doing so , to 8 days in prison. December 6, he committed a criminal offense.

“On the other hand, the data in the case confirm that A. Gerasimov avoided serving the custodial sentence imposed on him in the Kingdom of Norway, as a result of which the statute of limitations for the execution of the judicial sentence was suspended.” , noted Judge L. Žukauskas. – Mr. Gerasimov participated in the criminal proceedings in the Kingdom of Norway, both at first instance and on appeal, and appealed on appeal, so Mr. Gerasimov undoubtedly knew that he had been sentenced to an actual prison term.

A. Gerasimov was also informed of the sentence handed down against him during the examination of the Norwegian request on the recognition and enforcement of the court sentence in Lithuania. Also, since 2017. April 20 The search for A. Gerasimov was announced in the Kingdom of Norway.

It should be noted that A. Gerasimov was arrested in Latvia in 2017 due to a search announced by Norway. April 30, but May 2. was released. Therefore, Mr. Gerasimov was also aware of his search, but he did not appear to voluntarily serve the custodial sentence and did not in any way ask the competent authorities of the Kingdom of Norway for the custodial sentence that was issued to him. imposed. According to the Supreme Court, such actions by A. Gerasimov suspended the execution of the statute of limitations for the execution of the sentence. “

He was not released, he can hide again

According to the judge, the statute of limitations for the execution of the sentence has not expired at this time, therefore, there are no obstacles to the extradition of A. Gerasimov to Norway.

So far, Mr. Gerasimov has been arrested, although in considering the possibility of extraditing him to Norway, the court has requested milder preventive detention measures: house arrest, confiscation of documents, use of an electronic bracelet. Furthermore, his relatives transferred a deposit of 9,800 euros to the deposit account of the Vilnius Regional Court, which was supposed to be a guarantee that the condemned man would not hide.

But the judges did not release the man, there is still a chance that he could escape or hide from the impending imprisonment in Norway.

“It should be noted that Gerasimov knew very well that he had been convicted in the Kingdom of Norway and had been sentenced to an actual prison term,” the court noted. – It is also clear from the data body that the person voluntarily evaded the sentence imposed, i. and. knowing of the sentence, he avoided going to the Kingdom of Norway, did not contact the police authorities of that country, and so on. In this case, there is also evidence that A. Gerasimov has repeatedly used another name and surname. “

According to the judges, A. Gerasimov has been repeatedly convicted in foreign countries, so he can take advantage of acquaintances abroad and hide.