Separate Prison Department court: one of the leaders of the “Pravieniškės mafia” released

Artūras Zykovas, nicknamed 33-year-old from Kaunas, nicknamed Artiomka, realized that he had been released, only when he himself, and not accompanied by the convoy officers, went to criminal proceedings.

The judges reacted with lightning speed, imposing the toughest preventive detention measure on A. Zykov, who was only two weeks old and happy with his freedom. At that time, the defendant offered a bail of 30 thousand euros for his freedom, which he even managed to transfer to a deposit account in judicial guarantee. He also pointed out that when he was released he had already managed to get a job, it is true that only three days had passed, so he could not even clearly indicate what his job duties would be.

In the Pravieniškės Mafia case, prosecutors charged A. Zykov with organizing and running a criminal organization, killing a prisoner in a defenseless state with extreme cruelty, attempting to kill two people for selfish motives, illegal possession of large amounts of narcotics and psychotropic. substances,

A. Zykov was convicted six times, mainly for violations of public order, minor health disorders, and the last time he was convicted of intentional murder, when he and his accomplices beat at least 36 times his drinker while he was drinking. For this, the court sentenced A. Zykov to 11 years in prison.

Mr. Zykov was released on March 23. from the Alytus Correctional Center. Here he was transferred from the Pravieniškės Correctional Center, where he possibly committed the crimes charged against him.

Like most of the other defendants in the Pravieniškės mob case behind bars, A. Zykov was arrested by the court, although at the same time he was serving a sentence for his murder. 2019 In May 2006, the Vilnius Regional Court decided not to extend this preventive measure, but appealed to the Department of Prisons, which “was informed of the obstruction of the process by Zykov and the risk of committing new crimes, which must be evaluated to enforce Zykov’s imprisonment. “

In addition, through this sentence, the court instructed the prison institution, where A. Zykovas will serve a new custodial sentence, to notify the Vilnius Regional Court about the place of detention of A. Zykovas, violations of the punishment regime imprisonment, as well as the early release of A. Zykovas, the time of the institution of deprivation.

However, the judges received no reaction to such order; neither the Alytus Correctional Institution nor the Department of Prisons reported that A. Zykovas would be released and has already been released.

Why did the Department of Prisons and its prisons not comply with the decision of the Vilnius Regional Court? Delphi the Department of Prisons asked, but has not yet received a response, so we hope to add this information later when the department presents its position.

Today, A. Zykov is already in custody because, according to the judges, he can commit new crimes in freedom. However, the defendant, considered one of the leaders of the Pravieniškės mafia, does not agree with this conclusion: he believes that he was arrested only because the Department of Prisons did not inform the court about his release and therefore did not comply. with the provisions of the court. order.

“I have been sanctioned for non-compliance with a custodial institution or the Department of Prisons, but that order did not impose any obligation or obligation on me to give notice of the end of the custodial sentence, so I consider that my sentence, with the more severe is completely incompatible with the purposes of preventive detention, with the reasons for imposing the most severe preventive detention, or with the principle of justice as a constitutional principle of criminal procedure ”, A. Zykov and the defense lawyers pointed out in their complaint.

However, such a complaint by the accused is unfounded, ruled the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, confirming the preventive measure imposed on A. Zykov.

‘TO. Zykov has been charged with systematic and allegedly premeditated crimes involving the qualified deprivation of the life and health of other people, illicit possession of large quantities of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, extortion of assets, which may have been committed through the participation of a criminal organization and possible involvement of Zykov. not just a participant in the accused criminal association, acting for a long time together with other accomplices serving prison sentences – members of the criminal association, who based their actions and influence on other prisoners on the rules of the subculture and, for some time , their leader – and their leader, “said the panel chaired by Judge Jolanta Čepukėnienė.

According to the judges, the crimes may have been committed while serving a custodial sentence, Zykov had previously been convicted of murder, which “suggests that the defendant may continue to commit new crimes while at liberty and is therefore justified. his arrest. the protection of the public interest “.

The court also ruled that A. Zykov, accused of committing extremely dangerous crimes in a place of prison, would not have a more lenient detention measure or several of them (including a deposit of 30 thousand euros as bail) would be sufficient. ensure one of the objectives of limiting the risk of new criminal offenses.

The Vilnius Regional Court hearing the Pravieniškės mafia criminal case had previously released Aidas Kupčiūnas, the leader of an alleged criminal association, but he was not happy with his freedom for a long time: the judges arrested him again, because Aidelis, suspected of committing very serious crimes, planned despite not being allowed to leave his home, the man went to the Immigration Department and asked to present not only an identity card but also a passport, which is only required when you travel to third countries (outside the European Union). Union).

Fifteen current and former prisoners and Evaldas Baronėnas, a Criminal Intelligence Division official working in Pravieniškės, were prosecuted for crimes committed in Pravieniškės. None of them admit the complaints made.

During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that E. Baronėnas, a criminal intelligence specialist who was obliged to supervise the convicted, went together with the “guests of the chamber”, not only provided them with secret information, but also allowed them dealing in drugs. , but also provided them. And better than the prisoners who lived in freedom, he suspected that he controlled the lives of other prisoners for six years: deciding who was going to be “bachuru”, who was “duk” or “gallo”, dealing with drugs, alcohol, telephones and various prohibited items.

The inmates of Pravieniškės were beaten not only with specially made metal rods, which they kept in their beds throughout the day, but also with electrical cables. However, they all seemed to agree silently: they were afraid of being crippled or even killed. Because there have already been cases of this type.

All of these unwritten laws in the area were well known to the employees of the Pravieniškės Correctional Center, who were supposed to supervise and help convicts recover, but they were usually closed before crimes committed in prison.

In this case, several convicts were acquitted because they agreed to cooperate with law enforcement during the pre-trial investigation and discovered a series of crimes committed in the area.

There are also several classified witnesses in the case: Most of the prisoners at the correctional facility avoided contacting officials for fear of retaliation. In addition, according to the unwritten rules of the area, royal “bachurs” are not allowed to communicate with law enforcement, nor are they prohibited from answering questions from officials. And many of those who were sent to serve their sentences wanted to become “blunders” in correctional facilities.

According to data collected during the pre-trial investigation, some inmates even agreed to pay taxes just to live with those who run the prison. However, those convicts were immediately caught: if you had already agreed to pay, you would never be a “bachur”, even if someone from the criminal world in general interceded for you. True “bachurs” never pay, and when they do pay, they can become “dukes” or “roosters” at any time.

In the case of the Pravieniškės Mafia Association, the court explains not only how prisoners were terrorized and drug trafficked, but also how a prisoner was killed. He sympathized in 2015. Deimantas Bugavičius, a member of the “Agurkiniai” group, was shot in Kaunas, who with his friend was unofficially leading the group of prisoners at the time. D. Bugavičius in 2012. He suffered a real humiliation when he lost the position of leader: A. Kupčiūnas, a convict of a much lower level in the criminal world, took power from him.

In the eyes of other prisoners, D. Bugavičius, humiliated for a long time, resounded the plan of revenge; Although he had lost his authority, a member of the Agurkiniai group managed to unite the prisoners who supported him, who soon fought back and dealt with A. Kupčiūnas, who became a “guest of the chamber”.

Participants in a criminal organization can face up to fifteen years in prison for the crimes charged and life imprisonment for the organizers and leaders of the association.

About the events in Pravieniškės Delphi Special correspondent Dainius Sinkevičius has published a book “Pravieniškės Mafia”. The author’s new book “Police Gods” has also appeared in bookstores, exploring the links between the criminal world and law enforcement officers. The exceptional history of the policemen has almost 400 pages in the book “Police Gods”, which is already available in bookstores, as well as online at the publishing house “Baltos lankos”, the largest online bookstore raamat.lt and other points of distribution.