A Lithuanian court on Tuesday examined ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko's appeal against the decision to strip her of her Lithuanian citizenship, with a verdict due on December 10.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the Russian-born ice dancer avoided expressing her position on the war in Ukraine.
"I believe each person has a position, but each person has the right not to express it publicly," Drobiazko told the Regional Administrative Court via an interpreter.
She also refrained from sharing her views on the issue when asked by journalists on previous occasions.
When asked if Drobiazko was loyal to both Russia and Lithuania, she replied that she did not want to delve into political matters.
In September 2023, President Gitanas Nausėda stripped the Russian ice dancer of her Lithuanian citizenship she was granted by way of exception in 1993.
The president followed the Citizenship Commission's recommendation to revoke her citizenship because of her public support for the Kremlin regime.
During the hearing, Drobiazko said that she had never expressed her political views in any interview and added that her professional activities were not related to political issues.
"I really don't know where I have openly expressed my support for a hostile state," the ice dancer said.
Lithuanian authorities say that Drobiazko maintains close professional and personal ties with Tatyana Navka, the wife of Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary. Navka is on the EU and US sanction list.
Drobiazko said she has known Navka since she was 15 years old and knows who her husband is.
"I don't understand what this has to do with ice performances, ice shows, and our participation in these events," Drobiazko said.
"I don't understand what kind of international threat Tatyana can pose," she added.
The ice dancer insisted that she has never been interested in who sponsors the events she participates in and that her communication with Navka is strictly professional, not political.
Sandra Ponelienė, Drobiazko's defence lawyer, asked the court to turn to the Constitutional Court to examine if its decision was in line with the Constitution.
According to the Law on Citizenship, a person loses their Lithuanian citizenship acquired by way of exception if their actions threaten the security interests of Lithuania if they publicly express their support for a state that threatens the security interests of Lithuania or other EU member states, or their allies.
Drobiazko disagreed with the claim that she publicly supported a country that posed a threat to Lithuania's security.
"No legal or factual grounds were provided in the decree," the appeal stated.
According to the appeal, participation in private sporting events in Russia cannot be equated with support for the country.
According to Pranas Žukauskas, chair of the Citizenship Commission, Drobiazko's public relations with Putin's inner circle and her participation in the events organised by sanctioned individuals should be considered as public support of that regime.
"We know that business and art are not really separated from the regime's structures and politics in Russia, and cannot be done separately and independently," he said. "Any normalisation of a criminal regime can be seen, and in this case was seen, as support."
For his part, Povilas Vanagas, Drobiazko's Lithuanian husband and dance partner, who was questioned during the hearing, said that ordinary people should not be held responsible for the actions of politicians.
"I was very ashamed for all those people who are in power and make such decisions," he said, calling the accusations that taking part in an ice show was a way to promote the Russian regime absurd.
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