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The representative of the Tribunal Audris Kutrevičius informed BNS that A. Povilaitis’s complaint had been satisfied in its entirety and that the official dispute had been examined in writing in closed sessions.
“Because the accused, that is, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, has not proven that there was misconduct,” he said.
A. Povilaitis, who had previously headed the Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor’s Office for a period, asked the court to annul the General Prosecutor’s orders, which reduced his duties, to return him to the post of Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor’s Office and to pay duties.
This is the second time that the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court has examined the prosecutor’s complaint; in fall 2016, the court rejected the complaint and ruled that A. Povilaitis had been reasonably and legally demoted.
A. Povilaitis appealed this decision and stated that the court had not improperly examined the case, had not evaluated the evidence contained therein, and had not relied on the relevant case law.
Last fall, the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court partially confirmed the prosecutor’s complaint and referred the case to the lower court, ordering a re-evaluation of some of its circumstances.
By order of the General Prosecutor, on March 15, 2016, A. Povilaitis was transferred from the Specialized Prosecutor of the Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor’s Office to the lower position of Šiauliai District Prosecutor.
This sanction is imposed for the violation of the provisions of the Law of the Public Ministry that oblige them to perform their functions with impartiality and comply with the Prosecutor’s Code of Ethics, violations of the basic principles of professional activity enshrined in the Code of Ethics of the Fiscal.
The official investigation into the actions of A. Povilaitis was launched in the fall of 2015, after the prosecution received information that the then Šiauliai District Chief Prosecutor was communicating with the head of the Šiauliai Republican Hospital, Petras Simavičius, suspect in a pretrial corruption investigation.
This material collected during the criminal intelligence was presented to the Prosecutor’s Office by the Special Investigation Service.
The material records that A. Povilaitis communicates informally with P. Simavičius, possibly discussing the pre-trial investigation carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office. He also recorded that the prosecutor contacted the head of the hospital about his and his father’s medical care, which was believed to have been provided outside the general order.
The prosecutor himself claimed that he had not communicated with P. Simavičius about the pre-trial investigation, had not provided him with material or informed him.
It was also reported that A. Povilaitis had summoned the prosecutor Andrejs Mirnyj, who was leading the pre-trial investigation, to explain why he had submitted a request to the Chief Ethics Commission regarding the possibly confusing interests of P. Simavičius.
The direct director of A. Mirnyj and Fr Simavičius himself also participated in the conversation. A. Mirnyj has previously indicated that A. Povilaitis demonstrated friendly relations with P. Simavičius during this conversation and reproached the prosecutor.
Mirnyj, who led the pre-trial investigation, saw that this interfered with his job of obeying and executing possible illegal orders, but the Prosecutors’ Ethics Commission determined that the officer had simply overreacted emotionally.
This decision of the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within 30 days.
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