The Vilnius Regional Court on Friday found Lithuanian lawyer Mantas Danielius guilty of spying for Belarus and sentenced him to nine years in prison.
Danielius, who was present at the hearing, called the case an attack on freedom of speech.
Prosecutors have said that the pre-trial investigation into espionage was opened in late September 2022.
According to the investigation, since January 2022, Danielius had been carrying out tasks for a Belarusian national cooperating with Belarusian intelligence, gathering and passing on information to her.
It is believed that Danielius posed as a volunteer to gain access to Lithuania-based organisations bringing together the opposition to the Minsk regime and to communicate with individuals who fled Belarus after the August 2020 presidential election.
Investigators say that Danielius visited the offices of Belarusian opposition groups and attended events, collecting and passing on information about their activities, ongoing projects, funding sources, and organisation members and their meetings.
The Lithuanian citizen is accused of not only collecting and possibly sharing information about Belarusian opposition groups in Lithuania but also about the Kalinoŭski Regiment, a Belarusian unit fighting in Ukraine.
Belarusian intelligence was interested in Belarusian opposition organisations in Lithuania and in Vilnius-based Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, according to the investigation.
Lithuania’s law-enforcement bodies were informed about Danielius’ suspicious activities by Belarusian organisations operating in Lithuania.
Danielius has several previous convictions for document forgery, fraud, fraudulent bookkeeping, and other offences.
In June, the court handed down its ninth verdict against a Vilnius resident, who holds a law degree, sentencing him to a suspended sentence for producing and using fake documents. This case is unrelated to the espionage charges and involves incidents of forged documents connected to the transfer and management of companies.
In early February, while still out of custody, Danielius told BNS that he had been approached by representatives from Belarusian organisations, who he said even promised to help him find a wife.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
