“Nothing to do with the concept of justice”: the former Soviet military was sentenced in Lithuania

In Lithuania, former Soviet soldiers were convicted of crimes against humanity in the case of the events of January 13, 1991, when 14 people died during clashes at the Vilnius TV tower. Yuriy Mel was sentenced to seven years in prison, Georgy Ivanov to four years. The officers categorically deny blame. Other persons involved in the criminal case, including former USSR Minister of Defense Dmitry Yazov, received deadlines in absentia. At the same time, Russian diplomats and journalists were not allowed to announce the verdict without explanation of the reasons, although the process was open. In connection with the decision, the Investigation Committee conducts an audit in respect of Lithuanian judges. The ministry reminded that the charges were brought under articles that did not exist at the time of the events in Vilnius.

The Vilnius District Court sentenced the former Soviet military in the case of "crimes against humanity."

Lithuanian authorities claim that on the night of January 13, 1991, during the storming of the Vilnius TV tower, 14 civilians were killed by Soviet soldiers. According to the official version of Vilnius, the Soviet authorities tried to overthrow the legitimate authority in Lithuania, which on March 11, 1990, declared independence from the USSR. Lithuanian prosecutors demanded that 64 people be found guilty of "war crimes and crimes against humanity". According to the Lithuanian Criminal Code, such crimes do not have statute of limitations, and they can be punished with life imprisonment.

In August 2015, a criminal case consisting of more than 700 volumes was sent to the court. Among the defendants were 69 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, who served in the Soviet army. All of them are suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many of them live abroad, so European arrest warrants have been issued for their arrest. Lithuanian authorities recognized as victims in the case more than 500 people.

So far, only two have been in the dock - Colonel of the Reserve Yuri Mel, and the former head of the missile-artillery service of the 107th motorized rifle division of the USSR Armed Forces Gennady Ivanov.

Mel and Ivanov

On March 27, the Vilnius District Court convicted Colonel of the Reserve Yury Mel. During the storming of the Vilnius TV tower, he commanded a tank.

A former Soviet officer was arrested in March 2014 at the border in Lithuania, when he was returning home to Kaliningrad - a stranded Diabetes patient traveled abroad to purchase insulin.

The court sentenced Melya to seven years in prison. The prosecutor's office demanded for him 16 years in prison. Miel was credited with the term spent in the SIZO. Thus, he remained in captivity for two more years.

The former military man did not admit his guilt. At trial, he explained that he acted on the orders of the Soviet command and was not involved in the death of people. According to the testimony of Miel, the tank, which he commanded, broke through the fence around the television tower and took up a position, and three single shots were fired from the gun.

According to his lawyer Galina Karganovskaya, her client has not yet decided whether to appeal the verdict.

Georgy Ivanov, who was head of the missile and artillery armament service of the 107th motorized rifle division, was also found guilty and sentenced him to four years in prison. Before the entry into force of the court decision, he will be at liberty - the measure of restraint against him was not elected.

At the same time, the court did not prove that Ivanov commanded four tanks during the seizure of the Vilnius Palace of the Press, the defendant noted

“It is written in the case that it was not possible to prove it,” he says. “Actually, I was just in the crowd in uniform, but I did not take any part in the assault — I just came to see what was happening.”

His lawyer Julia Zhukina told RT that the verdict would be appealed.

4 to 12 years in prison

Vilnius District Court announced the verdicts and other defendants. So, former KGB officer Mikhail Golovatov was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison.

“The ultimate goal is to receive a conviction and then use it to obtain compensation for the“ occupation ”of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. What Lithuania is doing is obviously all that lies and distortion, ”Golovatov commented on the verdict.

Former USSR Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, the court appointed ten years in prison. The former head of the Vilnius garrison of the Soviet army, Vladimir Uskhopchik, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The remaining defendants were also found guilty and sentenced to different terms of imprisonment: from 4 to 12 years.

Elena Losik, daughter of Marshal of the Soviet Union Dmitry Yazov, commented on the verdict of the court in an interview with RT.

“Sorry, Dad is no longer in a position to comment, we refuse all interviews for two years. My attitude to what happened today in the Lithuanian court? I have no relation to politics. Father got into such a situation, such a time was revolutionary. Most likely, we should turn to other people for comments, ”said Elena Losik.

Failure to allow journalists

It is worth noting that the finals of the high-profile judicial process began with a scandal: neither Russian diplomats, nor Channel One journalists, Channel Five, Izvestia, RIA Novosti or RT were allowed to go to court.

The police at the entrance refused to let representatives of the Russian press to an open trial, because they did not find journalists in the lists admitted to the meeting. Shortly after the commencement of the verdict to the crowd of journalists, a press secretary of the court came out and distributed accreditation forms in Lithuanian. However, even after they were filled in, only local journalists were allowed to go to court, and the others were told that there were no seats in the hall, although there were actually empty seats.

Russian Ambassador to Lithuania Alexander Udaltsov called the “disgraceful fact” the refusal to let him in on the announcement of the verdict.

“They cannot even complete this judgment in human terms, they resort to such measures,” the Russian ambassador said. - I was driving because they were judging Russian citizens. I wanted to support with my presence, say that in such cases it would be nice to hear. ”

Udaltsov noted that Russian diplomats under the protocol should attend meetings when Russian citizens are judged.

"Shot from the roofs"

Publicist and philosopher Valery Ivanov, in an interview with journalists outside the court building, noted that the process was a “political performance”, and the investigation had not really been conducted.

“The most revealing fact is that the investigation did not even conduct traceological examinations to answer the question of where the shooting was carried out from,” says Ivanov. - I was there and personally saw the shooting from the roof. There, even without examinations, it is clear that the people were shot not by the Soviet military. One person was killed with a Mosin rifle shot - where could the Alphavians have it? ”.

Earlier, the former commander of the “Sajudis” military detachments, Audrius Butkevicius, noted that his people shot at the crowd of supporters of Lithuanian independence. His testimony, as noted by the participants in the trial, was ignored by the court.

They categorically denied involvement in the death of people and the Alpha fighters - they claimed that they did not use a single live patron during the assault and could not injure a single person. An officer of the Soviet group “Alpha” was among those killed during the clashes on January 13 - he was shot in the back.

It is noteworthy that many Lithuanians, with whom the RT correspondent talked, consider the trial against the military to be fair, but almost everyone notes that it should have happened 20 years ago.

“They delayed it too, but it was necessary to condemn those involved. As the Germans responded after the Second World War, the Russians should have been punished for what happened in 1991, ”says a Vilnius resident.

Illegal attraction

The Russian authorities call the “January 13 case” a political process “in the worst traditions of punitive justice,” and also note that the criminal prosecution is conducted in violation of international and Lithuanian criminal law, since the defendants are charged under articles that did not exist in the USSR at that time.

According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the former chief prosecutor of the department of criminal prosecution of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania Simonas Slapsinskas was accused in absentia of illegally bringing the Russians to justice. Slapshinskasa is charged with Part 2 of Art. 299 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Illegal prosecution of obviously innocent citizens of Russia).

In the UK, it is noted that Lithuanian prosecutors knew that events in Vilnius occurred when the Lithuanian SSR was not an independent state and was part of the USSR, and Soviet military personnel performed their duties, acting in accordance with the law and ensuring public order.

According to Russian investigators, Lithuanian prosecutors failed to prove that it was the actions of the Soviet military that led to the death of people.

"The facts of shooting civilians from rooftops and upper floors of adjacent buildings are silent, although it is reliably known that a third party participated in the conflict," the UK said.

“Thus, the Lithuanian judges violated one of the generally recognized principles of international law and criminal procedure - the inadmissibility of giving retroactive force to the criminal law. Obviously, such a decision has nothing to do with the concept and goals of justice, ”the Investigation Committee stressed.

In 2016, the State Duma of the Russian Federation was told that citizens of the former USSR were accused of crimes stipulated in articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania in the edition that entered into force on March 31, 2011, while the events took place 20 years ago. In the opinion of the Russian deputies, the Lithuanian authorities act "out of opportunistic considerations and because of their misunderstood political expediency to violate one of the basic principles of justice - the inadmissibility of giving retroactive force to the criminal law."

“The withdrawal of the union republic from the USSR is not an instantaneous process, the date of independence of the Republic of Lithuania should be considered September 6, 1991 - the day of the adoption of the Resolution of the USSR State Council“ On recognition of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania. After the adoption of this resolution, international recognition of the Republic of Lithuania and its entry into the UN followed, noted in the State Duma. - At the same time, according to Article 7 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950, no one can be convicted of committing an act or of inaction, which according to the national or international law at the time of its commission was not criminal offense. Similar provisions are contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966 ".