The Constitutional Court will look into whether the laws under which Russian-born ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko was stripped of her Lithuanian citizenship are in line with the constitution.
The court will look into the law, which allows Lithuania to revoke the country’s passport from dual-nationality people who have gained citizenship by way of exception. Normally, people are not allowed to hold dual nationalities, but may be granted one due to sporting or other merits.
The law allows revoking the passport, if the person’s actions threaten Lithuania's security interests or if they have expressed support for a state that poses a threat to the security interests of Lithuania, the European Union, or the country’s allies.
President Gitanas Nauseda invoked this particular legislative provision when stripping Drobiazko of her Lithuanian citizenship. The former athlete, who has Russian citizenship and lives in Russia, appealed against the president's decree to the Regional Administrative Court.
During the hearing of the case, the Regional Administrative Court questioned whether it was not contrary to the constitution that the above-mentioned legislative provision applies exclusively to persons with multiple nationalities who have acquired Lithuanian citizenship by way of exception.
“The applicant has doubts about the division of the category of holders of dual citizenship into separate sub-categories according to the grounds for acquiring citizenship and the different treatment of these categories,” the Constitutional Court said in a statement.
The Regional Administrative Court said that the holding of citizenship leads to equal legal status of citizens, grants equal rights and freedoms, imposes equal obligations, and, if necessary, ensures the protection of the state both in Lithuania and abroad.
The court also questioned whether the constitutional principle of the rule of law was not contradicted by the possibility, provided for in the Law on Citizenship, to deprive a person of Lithuanian citizenship even if he or she did not pose a direct threat to Lithuania's security interests, but rather to the security interests of other states.
The law also does not define the notion of national security interests, nor does it specify the level of seriousness of the offence constituting the grounds for the loss of citizenship.
The Constitutional Court will also assess whether the president has the power to revoke citizenship, given that the constitution only gives him the power to grant citizenship.
According to the Regional Administrative Court, the president can not decide on the restriction of human rights and freedoms.
In September 2023, President Nausėda revoked Drobiazko's Lithuanian citizenship, which she had been granted by way of exception back in 1993. The president acted on a recommendation from the Citizenship Commission, which cited her public support for the Kremlin regime.
At the time, Pranas Žukauskas, chairman of the Citizenship Commission, said that Drobiazko's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and her participation in events organised by sanctioned individuals should be considered public support for that regime.
Drobiazko, who holds Russian citizenship, told the Regional Administrative Court during the hearing that she had never expressed political views in any interview and added that her professional activities were unrelated to political matters.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian authorities say that Drobiazko maintains close professional and personal ties with Tatyana Navka, the wife of Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Putin's press secretary. Navka is on the EU and US sanctions lists.
Drobiazko was granted Lithuanian citizenship by way of exception back in 1993 for her merits in sports. She and her husband Povilas Vanagas have in the past represented Lithuania in various championships.
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