Kaunas was arrested near the Seimas with a desecrated tricolor: I support the LGBT community, but I do not want to be exalted



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Prosecutor Benediktas Leišys, who controlled the pre-trial investigation carried out by police officers at the time and referred the criminal case to court, says that Maila committed two crimes, not only publicly dishonoring and desecrating the symbol of the Lithuanian state, it also incited hatred and discriminated against a group of people .orientation.

M. Maila, tried before the Seimas for the events of mid-June, initially admitted the charges against him and did not object to the court examining the criminal case in a written procedure by adopting a criminal order. The court did so by imposing the four-month prison sentence proposed by the prosecutor’s office on Mr. Mailai. During it, the convicted person was instructed to stay home at night and work 50 hours for free. in institutions that serve people in need.

After receiving the criminal court order, Mr. Maila changed his mind, claimed that he had been wrongly convicted, and requested that the criminal case against him be examined at a court hearing. Judge Egle Venckiene of the Vilnius City District Court was again ordered to investigate the circumstances of the case.

During the pre-trial investigation, officials discovered him as early as June 15. in the evening, around 11 pm, M. Maila, being at A. Goštauto and A. Tumėno str. At the crossroads, the words “HOMOROJUS” and “#LIETUVOJHOMOROJUS” were written on the Lithuanian state flag with a spray of white paint. The man left her in the parking lot near the Seimas, where the participants of the family rally had erected an art sculpture “Kretinas.” And when he returned to the Seimas the next morning and heard the outrage of the rallies over the flag on the left, he took it, but was soon arrested: passers-by were stopped by protesters.

The Kaunas resident, who spent the day in the police detention center, claimed that by desecrating the tricolor, he was seeking to attract the attention of authorities.

“At the beginning of June, I read on the Internet that the mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius, had prohibited holding a demonstration of traditional families in the Vingis park,” said M. Maila. – In my opinion, R. Šimašius discriminates against traditional families in relation to “non-traditional” ones. As a result, I wrote the words “HOMOROJUS” and “#LIETUVOJHOMOROJUS” on the Lithuanian state flag with white spray paint. This inscription means that homosexuals in Lithuania have a “paradise”, they can do and offer whatever they want, discriminating against people of traditional orientation “.

However, now M. Maila thinks otherwise: a man who worked as a builder claimed that he had organized a performance near the Seimas, in which he wanted to say that it is good for everyone to live in Lithuania. Also for representatives of sexual minorities.

“I have never tried to incite hatred, as they try to say, on the contrary, I simply support the LGBT community, so I wanted to say that there is a paradise in Lithuania,” Maila said in court.

He did not hide that such a protest was prompted not only by the mayor of Vilnius, R. Šimašius, who refused to grant a permit to the participants of the Family March, but also by a sculpture by designer Vilius Puronas made of tin “Kretinas” and a poster hung next to him during the rally. “His place in the trailer, but not in power! …”

M. Maila did not hide his Christian views at court and immediately realized that the sculpture was intended to ridicule the “Lithuanian patriarch Landsbergis”, because he still leads the party, although he publicly claims that he has withdrawn from the great politics.

“I cared about Lithuania, so I wrote those words, but they are beautiful, translated from Latin homo it means man, and the second word is paradise, which means that all people in Lithuania have paradise, ”he said.

The Kaunas resident also noted that he did not value the Lithuanian flag as it was not registered on February 16. it was bought in a store, so in his opinion the flag is marketed.

“I believe that beautiful things can be written on a canvas, on a piece of cloth, I don’t know a law so that prohibits it,” he affirmed his position at the court hearing. “Here’s a look at what’s happening in America, where you see for the first time why a person did that with the flag.” Yes, the flag cannot be trampled on, burned or otherwise despised, but I only wrote pretty words. A flag is just an item that we throw away when it wears out. This is not a cross that cannot be thrown away, it needs to be burned. So what I did was an art form, you have to look at what was written on the flag. “

When asked why she changed positions, she told police officers immediately after her arrest, Ms. Maila argued that she was in shock at the time. But right here he added that he was joking.

“In fact, the mayor of Vilnius exaggerated when, for no reason, he did not allow peaceful people to hold a rally, I was very disappointed that the mayor discriminated against people from traditional views and allowed everything to minorities,” said the defendant .

And he added here: “Well, maybe he is not discriminating at the moment, but he was being discriminated at that time, why is he elevating minority associations and banning traditional people.”

Having repeatedly emphasized that he had not reacted negatively to the state or its symbol, the flag, M. Maila added that in his performance he meant that he did not agree that the LGBT community in Lithuania should have greater rights than traditional families.

“I did not seek to infiltrate or attack the LGBT community – I am an artist, if others speak with clues as to why I cannot write as it is,” Maila explained.

The man came to the court hearing dressed in the Lietuvos Rytas basketball club jersey, although, he explained, he is a loyal supporter of Kaunas Žalgiris.

“I apologize to the Vilnius society if they were shocked to unfurl the flag,” said M. Maila, whose interview can be seen in the video after the court hearing. “As a Kaunas resident,” Žalgiris “fan, I humbled myself and dressed in the” Rytas “jersey, I want some solidarity.”

As Ms. Maila did not acknowledge the accusations made against her regarding the desecration of the state symbol and against incitement to hatred and discrimination against a group of people based on their sexual orientation, Judge E. Venckienė decided to request the Office of the Inspector of Journalistic Ethics. Their representatives will be asked to take a language test and answer whether the words written on Ms. Maila’s flag were really hostile to sexual minorities.

By the way, after the incident at the Seimas, M. Maila did not go to any more protests in Vilnius, because, as he himself admitted, there is no reason to protest:
“I myself have an Opportunity Passport and I think everything is fine.”

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