The Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, has voted to strip MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis of his legal immunity so he can be investigated for his allegedly anti-Semitic statements.
All 77 lawmakers present in the vote unanimously supported the motion.
At least 71 out of 141 MPs must vote in favour of a resolution on lifting a lawmaker’s legal immunity for it to be adopted.
On Monday, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė asked the Seimas for its consent to prosecute Žemaitaitis.
Prosecutors want to prosecute the MP for publicly ridiculing, expressing contempt for and inciting hatred against a group of people of Jewish nationality.
According to prosecutors, data collected during the pre-trial investigation give grounds to believe that in his Facebook posts of May 9, June 13, June 14 and June 15 of last year, Žemaitaitis “possibly publicly ridiculed, expressed contempt for and incited hatred against a group of people of Jewish nationality”.
Žemaitaitis, meanwhile, says the move is part of a smear campaign linked to his intention to run in the presidential election in May. He insists his statements were not hate speech.
In his Facebook posts last June, Žemaitaitis suggested that “the Jews and Russians” oppressed ethnic Lithuanians during World War Two and were responsible for the 1944 massacre of the village of Pirčiupiai. In fact, the atrocity was committed by German SS troops.
Further reading
In May, Žemaitaitis posted a news story about a Palestinian school demolished by Israel in the West Bank. He added that Israel’s actions “increase the anger and, at the same time, the hatred towards Jews and their nation” and quoted an anti-Semitic rhyme.
The parliament has launched an impeachment procedure against Žemaitaitis over the same Facebook posts.
Žemaitaitis was elected to the parliament as a member of the Freedom and Justice party, but his membership was suspended last May over the Facebook posts. He registered a new party in January and announced his intention to run for president.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
