The ECHR defended Romuva and passed on to Lithuanian politicians

Furthermore, the ECHR stated that the members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania who voted against the granting of state recognition to Romuvai “exercised their legislative powers and did not remain neutral and impartial”.

One of the biggest opponents of the recognition of the Roma as a traditional religion recognized by the state was the current chairman of the Seimas Foreign Affairs Committee, the conservative Žygimantas Pavilionis.

During the debate in the Seimas, when a bill on the recognition of romuva as a traditional religion recognized by the state was discussed, the politician even accused the gypsies of having ties to the KGB.

“Let’s not forget that the Russian KGB has done everything possible since Soviet times to strengthen paganism in Lithuania. Read the writings of A. Dugin. It clearly states that Christianity is one of those stones that should be destroyed in Lithuania, it was also support of the partisan movement. Therefore, I believe that, whether or not they are willing, consciously or unconsciously, at this moment, those who present this project are simply following the instructions of the Kremlin. You are doing what A. Duginas wrote in his books in a very large fountain. ”Conservatives Ž. The Seimas tribune pavilion in the spring of 2019, when considering the bill on the recognition of Romuva, is recognized as a traditional religion by the state.

Delfi recalls that in 2018, 24 Lithuanian parliamentarians, mostly from the then ruling Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union faction, presented a project for the recognition of Romuva.

Although the project successfully passed the submission stage and deliberations in the committees (the main committee was the Culture Committee headed by the president of LVŽS at the time), the Seimas did not support such an initiative when it voted in favor of the adoption, mainly by the Conservatives.

Emotional Ž. The pavilion speech at the Seimas in 2019 on the alleged links between the KGB and the Roma with R. Karbauskis was accompanied by further events.

As a result of such statements, the politician was later admitted to the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Commission for violating ethics, but he appealed this decision to the courts and later lost it. The courts recognized that, by speaking like this, Ž. The pavilion “deliberately slandered” the religious community.

In its decision, the ECHR also ruled on Ž. Pavilionis’s slander of Romuva’s ties to the KGB.

“The arguments presented during one of the parliamentary debates were an alleged link between the applicant’s activities and the policies of the KGB or the Kremlin. However, the Court observes that this statement was not confirmed by any of the concerned national authorities (ie that is, the Lithuanian State Security Department). The proposal to grant state recognition to the association was examined, among others, by the Defense and National Security Committee of the Seimas, which did not oppose. The members of the Seimas did not present no evidence to support such statements, ”reads the ECHR ruling in the Romuva v. Lithuania case, published on Tuesday.

The former Baltic religious community Romuva was registered on May 27, 1992. The community currently claims to unite more than 5,000 confessors. The community is run by Krivė Inija Trinkūnienė. The ancient Baltic religious community Romuva is based on the Baltic religious tradition, which consists of Lithuanian, Latvian and Prussian religious heritage.