The wrestling champion, who confused the ring with the dance floor, has returned to freedom: a new stage of life awaits him

“The court concludes that the objectives of the institute of punishment and conviction provided for in criminal law have been achieved, that the convicted person chooses a legal way of life after serving the sentence and has lost the danger, while the sentence unduly restricts their participation in full life. – announced Giedrė Telksnienė, judge of the Vilnius City District Court.

The Criminal Law establishes that persons convicted of very serious crimes will be considered convicted during the period of execution of the sentence and 8 years after the execution of the sentence or the release of the sentence, therefore it would be considered that M. Švėgžda has criminal record. until 2025. end of February. As more than half of the sentence had already expired, M. Švėgžda approached the court and asked him to cancel the sentence.

M. Švėgžda, who played at the Titanas club, was convicted of an incident in a Kaunas nightclub, when for a trifling excuse he hit his head and face once, causing the victim to fall and hit the ground with the neck. The court has determined that the victim suffered a severe traumatic brain injury as a result of the injuries, resulting in fractures of the skull vault, left clavicle, occipital and base bones, concussions, etc.

“With such actions, M. Švėgžda intentionally seriously damaged the victim’s health due to the hooligan’s incentives,” the court has stated. For this crime, the martial arts teacher was sentenced to four years in prison, which was later commuted to two years by the appellate court judges, although he recognized that the defendant represented a real threat to the victim’s health.

Immediately after the incident, M. Švėgžda hastily left the nightclub, although he later arrived at the police station and admitted what he had done. At that time, a visitor to the club with a serious head injury was forced to treat the injuries for almost half a year.

The court that heard the criminal case ruled that M. Švėgžda, being an experienced athlete and knowing the force of his shots, hitting the victim in a place important to the life and health of the victim: the area of ​​his head, was realized that he was endangering his health.

After this incident, M. Švėgžda reconciled with the victim, compensated him for the damages (he paid more than 7 thousand euros), but according to the applicable laws, he could not be acquitted for a serious crime.

In court, the martial arts champion partly admitted his fault: that by beating the victim he did not believe that he could be seriously injured.

Said the athlete that night in a crowded disco with a girl dancing on a podium in one of the hallways of the club.

“Soon, the victim and the girl began to dance nearby, because there was not much space on the podium and the room was empty, I told the victim to go away, to go dance somewhere else and I pushed him by the arm”, said M. Švėgžda. “That guy said something to me that year and he walked by; I freaked out and hit him three times in the face, from which he fell.”

Mr. Švėgžda also stated in court that he deeply regretted his actions in the nightclub, stating that the victim had been beaten only because his life had been threatened.

“I used physical force against a specific person who insulted me and posed a threat, not against an accidental person, I did not violate public order before the conflict, I communicated in a peaceful and calm manner, I did not look for reasons to hold on to another visiting club,

After the sentence came into force, M. Švėgžda was sent to the Pravieniškės Correctional Center to serve his sentence. However, he did not stay in jail, since he actively participated in the management of the prison, contributed to the improvement of the squad where he lived, participated in sporting events organized by the squad, was not sanctioned, only encouraged, therefore More than a year after the sentence, the convict was released on parole.

At the end of the probation period, M. Švėgžda and his lawyer Giedrius Danėlius submitted a new request to the court to overturn the convicted man’s sentence.

The statement to the court indicated that the convicted not only compensated the victim, but also the Kaunas Territorial Health Insurance Fund for his treatment, and also emphasized that the athlete apologized to the victim during the trial in the appeals court. and sincerely regretted his actions.

“After the conviction, M. Švėgžda did not commit any criminal act, which allows us to say that he is not willing to repeat the crime,” said the athlete’s lawyer. – Both during the execution of the sentence imposed on him and during the sentence, feeling the consequences of the sentence imposed on him, M. Švėgžda perceived the danger and illegality of his actions and assessed his criminal conduct very negatively, and after the sentence is the behavior of the condemned the principle of justice, and the condemned himself has been affected in such a way that he will continue to comply with the law and will not commit any crime “.

The lawyer emphasized that M. Švėgžda, who had been released, had worked for a transport company, but had recently changed jobs and was looking for another company to seek career opportunities, but the company refused to hire Švėgžda after learning of their convictions and ask for a criminal record. Also, according to the defense attorney, a man wants to occupy a higher position at work, so by law he must obtain a certain license for his work, and it is granted only to people of impeccable reputation. In other words, the unjust.

“In view of this, the continuing sentence will significantly hinder M. Švėgžda not only to find a job, but also to occupy higher positions,” according to G. Danėlis, the existing sentence limits the convict’s career opportunities and the search for more important positions.

The representative of the prosecution did not object to the reversal of M. Švėgžda’s sentence.

“I believe that there are conditions to abolish the criminal record, the person drew conclusions, compensated the damage, duly fulfilled the obligations imposed by the sentence, achieved the sanction purposes, there are no new previous investigations against him, there are no new criminal offenses, positively characterized, “said prosecutor Aušra Zakarkienė.

This position was also supported by the court, which noted that the Criminal Law stipulates that persons convicted of a criminal offense who have been convicted by a court will be considered criminal records.

“Justice can also lead to restrictions on human rights and freedoms enshrined in the relevant laws, which to some extent, among other things, complicate the reintegration of a convicted person into society, their opportunities to participate in professional activities or otherwise and exercise their rights, “said Judge G. Telksnienė. The sentence cannot restrict the rights and freedoms of the sentenced person for the rest of his life.

When canceling the sentence of the Lithuanian champion, the judge also noted that after the conviction, M. Švėgžda was administratively punished, but the offenses were not very serious, all the fines were paid.

“The convicted person assesses his criminal conduct negatively, he sincerely regrets it, says he has drawn conclusions,” the court said.