The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday stripped MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, of his legal immunity, allowing the court to continue hearing his criminal case for inciting hatred against Jews.
The motion passed with 101 votes in favour and none against or abstaining. Under the Seimas Statute, at least 71 out of 141 MPs must approve the decision to allow a lawmaker to face criminal charges.
Žemaitaitis says that although he agreed to a simplified procedure for the lifting of his immunity, he rejects the charges brought against him by prosecutors.
“This is absolutely a political case, absolutely political persecution,” Žemaitaitis told the parliament on Tuesday, adding that this is the reason why his party’s political group in the Seimas did not take part in the vote.
At his request, images from the Gaza Strip, an interview with Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, and a performance by late Lithuanian artist Jonas Mekas were shown during the sitting.
“Today, all of you sitting here are tolerating the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Every opposition activist or anyone talking about defending human rights does not care at all about the human rights in the Gaza Strip,” Žemaitaitis told the Seimas.
“We all care about Georgia, we all care about Ukraine, but none of us is able to think about what is happening today in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip. Today, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu [...] is killing people in the Gaza Strip with his brutal actions,” he added.
Žemaitaitis said he was not afraid to stand trial but criticised what he called double standards. Other politicians who make derogatory statements about Jews or other groups, he said, are not facing legal action.
Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė asked the parliament to strip Žemaitaitis of his legal immunity so that the Vilnius Regional Court could continue its proceedings in a criminal case in which the MP is accused of anti-Semitism.
The Seimas of the previous parliamentary term had already lifted Žemaitaitis’ immunity in this case, but he regained it after being sworn in again.
Under the constitution, a member of the Seimas cannot be prosecuted or have their liberty restricted without the parliament’s consent.
The Nemunas Dawn leader is charged with committing two continuous criminal offences. The case includes eight episodes of incitement to hatred and three episodes of Holocaust denial.
According to the prosecutor general, the MP’s Facebook posts about Jews and his statements in the Seimas on the subject should be regarded as promoting the idea of normalising anti-Semitism, publicly ridiculing, expressing contempt for, and inciting hatred against a group of people based on their ethnicity, as well as expressing anti-Semitic ideas.
The case files also show that Žemaitaitis spread false information about Jewish people and their involvement in deporting Lithuanian citizens.
The inclusion of the Nemunas Dawn party in the new ruling coalition in Lithuania has provoked protests and criticism from abroad due to Žemaitaitis’ anti-Semitic statements.
Further reading
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
