The Police Commissariat in Lithuania’s eastern city of Šalčininkai has launched a pre-trial investigation into the statements of a young Lithuanian man who was filmed praising Russia in a video, Ramunas Matonis, the spokesman for the Police Department, told BNS.
Police spokesman Ramūnas Matonis said the basis for the probe was suspicions of public incitement of violence or a physical violent treatment of a group of persons.
“On December 5, a pre-trial investigation under Article 170 of the Criminal Code into a threat of violence against a certain group of people was launched by the Šalčininkai District Police Commissariat into this incident,” Matonis told BNS.
Under this article, a person faces a fine, restriction of liberty, arrest or custodial sentence of up to three years.
In the video, the man, who identified himself as 22-year-old Genadij Rogac, expressed support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and disparaged Lithuania, saying that if someone “gave him a Kalashnikov”, he would shoot all the parliament members.
The video was shared on social media by Edgar Mirotvorets, a Ukrainian activist who pretends to be pro-Russian and provokes people into sharing their views.
On November 5, Mirotvorets posted his conversation with Rogac on his Youtube channel. The young Lithuanian man said he had wanted to beat up his Ukrainians co-workers in Vilnius several times, but feared that he might go to jail for it.
Photos of him wearing a Lithuanian military uniform started circulating on social media. According to 15min.lt, Rogac completed his compulsory military service in 2022 and is currently a member of the ready reserve.
The 15min.lt news website reported on Tuesday that conservative MP Laurynas Kasčiūnas had asked the Prosecutor General’s Office, the police and intelligence services to investigate the video.
In a comment sent to BNS, the Lithuanian armed forces also stated that “an assessment of the content has been initiated with a view to referring the matter to the competent authorities”.
Commenting on the video, military representatives said it did not and would not have an impact on their activities, adding that, in this case, “a legal assessment is possible in accordance with the law, but must be carried out by the law enforcement authorities”.
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