[ad_1]
On October 6, the Panevėžys District Court acquitted J. Slapšinskas of Utena, who had illegally hunted a bison in January this year. The judicial investigation was carried out in accordance with article 272 of the Penal Code. Paragraph 3 due to significant damage to a protected wild species.
The preliminary investigation was launched after J. Slapšinskas illegally hunted a bison during a commercial hunt in the Panevėžys district on January 3 this year.
Initially, a protocol of administrative misconduct for said hunter was drawn up at the Panevėžys Board of the Environmental Protection Department of the Ministry of the Environment and it was intended to compensate 12 thousand for the damage caused to nature. 198 euros for damages.
However, in mid-January, a wandering bison chick was captured in the Panevėžys district, which soon died. After DNA testing, it was established that it was a young bison shot by J. Slapšinskas during a hunt. For the shot that carries (feeding) the bison, the damage is tripled, so it was estimated at more than 36.5 thousand. euro damage.
When new circumstances became apparent and the damage to nature was significantly greater than previously thought, on 26 February the Department of Environmental Protection of the Ministry of the Environment requested the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office to initiate a pre-trial investigation.
The pre-trial investigation was conducted by officials from the Panevėžys City and District Police Station, and the investigation was conducted by the Panevėžys District Prosecutor’s Office, Rima Matulionienė.
Hunter J. Slapšinskas, due to criminal negligence in violation of hunting rules prohibiting shooting at an unidentified target, was suspected of shooting a female dog that was carrying (feeding) a female dog and thus causing harm significant to the protected species included in the list of protected animals of the Republic of Lithuania. conservation status of the species.
During the pre-trial investigation, J.Slapšinskas admitted his guilt, compensated for a part of the damage caused to nature – more than 26 thousand. and promised to repay the remainder before November 2021.
On September 28, J.Slapšinskas and his wife Loreta Slapšinskienė submitted a request to the Panevėžys District Prosecutor’s Office requesting the release of the suspect from criminal responsibility on bail. J. Slapšinskas’s wife agreed to become a guarantor.
After evaluating the data collected during the pre-trial investigation, the prosecutor R. Matulionienė adopted a resolution to terminate the pre-trial investigation and applied to the Panevėžys District Court for the release of J. Lapšinskas from criminal responsibility on bail.
On October 6, the court upheld the prosecutor’s judgment and decided to release Utena from criminal liability under bail, transferring her to bail responsibility for a period of 2 years. The politician was also sanctioned with a 2-year hunting ban.
Environmentalists did not commit crimes
Earlier, on September 24, the prosecutor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Division of the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office decided to terminate the pre-trial investigation in which two officials from the Panevėžys Department of Environmental Protection were suspected of possibly they did not fulfill their duties in explaining bison hunting.
This pre-trial investigation began at the end of January this year, when representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection (hereinafter, the Department) under the Ministry of the Environment addressed the forces of order.
The latter asked to determine whether Alfredas Breivė, head of the Panevėžys Wildlife Protection Inspectorate of the Panevėžys Department Board, and D.Š. duly performed his duties in the investigation of a hunt for females illegally hunted during professional hunting.
According to the representatives of the Department, if the mentioned environmentalists did not find that the shot bison was driving (feeding) the chick, it was estimated that the damage to the Protected Species and Habitats was 3 times less, causing almost 25 thousand damage to the state. euro damage.
On September 24, the prosecutor in charge of the pretrial investigation issued the decision to terminate the pretrial investigation.
The prosecutor concluded that A. Breivė, head of the Panev ofžys Wildlife Protection Inspectorate of the Panevėžys Board, had not sufficiently guaranteed the interests of the service in the performance of his duties. As a result, it was assumed that incorrect determination of the damage caused by the female bison bullet and its game after the initiation of the administrative misconduct investigation could have caused significant harm to the state.
Since the actual damage was calculated when the new circumstances became apparent, and J. Slapšinskas, who was hunting a female bison, admitted this amount of damage, did not dispute it, reimbursed most of it and promised to pay the remaining part within a year , no harm was done to the state.
The prosecutor’s ruling establishes that A. Breiv el, the head of the Panevėžys Wildlife Protection Inspectorate, may not have properly complied with the laws regulating his activities, but in this case, the Court’s jurisprudence must also be taken into account Supreme Court of Lithuania (LAT).
The SCL has repeatedly stated in its rulings that criminal liability in a democratic society should be perceived only as an extreme last measure (ultima ratio) used to protect protected legal assets and values in cases where the same objectives cannot be achieved with measures. more forgiving.
In the opinion of the Prosecutor’s Office, the assessment of the actions / omissions of A. Breiv be could be carried out in a disciplinary manner, for which reason the Department has already initiated (but suspended the process of applying disciplinary responsibility to the latter during this investigation prior to the judgment). The Department’s misconduct investigation process may now continue.
In his ruling, the prosecutor also stated that D.Š., the lead specialist of the Panevėžys Wildlife Protection Inspectorate. No evidence of a crime provided for in article 229 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania has been established in the actions.
[ad_2]
