A Lithuanian court on Monday convicted 85 people over rioting outside the country’s parliament in 2021, handing most of them suspended prison terms in the largest case of its kind in the nation’s history.
The Vilnius District Court acquitted two defendants of rioting, though one was found guilty of illegal possession of a weapon.
Among those sentenced was Antanas Kandrotas, nicknamed Celofanas, who received a combined four-year prison sentence. Protest participant Andrej Lobov was given a suspended two-year prison term. Both were declared repeat offenders.
Teacher Astra Genovaitė Astrauskaitė, who organised the protest that escalated into rioting, was sentenced to two years and two months of suspended imprisonment. Fighter Arnoldas Misiūnas received a suspended sentence of one year and 11 months. Astrauskaitė was also barred from leaving her home between 21:00 and 06:00 and ordered, like several others, to pay €1,000 to Lithuania’s Crime Victims Fund.
Prosecutors had sought tougher sentences, including 4.5 years for Kandrotas, four years for Lobov, and more than three years for Astrauskaitė and Misiūnas.
Of the 87 defendants initially charged, 75 were sentenced to between 18 months and two years of suspended imprisonment. During the probation period, they must remain within their place of residence, work or register with the Employment Service, and comply with restrictions. Six defendants were released from criminal liability under a guarantee.
Several defendants were also declared repeat offenders, and many were ordered to pay fines totalling several thousand euros to the Crime Victims Fund.
The court session was briefly interrupted when Judge Zina Vilnienė fell ill while reading the ruling. She was given medical assistance in the courtroom, and the verdict was later finished by another judge, Mindaugas Striaukas. The law allows such a procedure when justified by health reasons, he said.
The trial, which opened in April 2023, was the largest of its kind in Lithuania. The charges stemmed from the violent unrest of August 10, 2021, when a protest against government Covid-19 restrictions turned into a riot outside the Seimas. Stones and other objects were thrown at police and public security officers, 23 of whom were among the 27 officially recognised victims in the case.
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