A professor at Vilnius University on March 11 pulled down a banner with a slogan typically used by the far-right, “Lithuania for Lithuanians”, leading to him being detained.
The first reports about the incident appeared on social media on Saturday. They were posted by Raimondas Šimaitis, the organiser of rallies against a property tax and head of the association “Šeima Tauta Valstybė” (Family, Nation, State).
He alleged that Konstantinas Andrijauskas, a political scientist and China expert at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, tore off a banner on March 11, called them extremists and began pushing people.
Andrijauskas addressed the incident on social media on Sunday, acknowledging that he had removed the banner, but denied assaulting anyone
“I regard this slogan as radical and extremist because I see it as hate speech and incitement to ethnic discord,” Andrijauskas wrote.
He claimed the individual who raised the banner was well known to law enforcement and matched the definition of a radical extremist.
A spokesperson for the Vilnius County Police, Julija Samorokovskaja, confirmed to BNS that the suspect is Andrijauskas.
“Police officers have opened a pre-trial investigation under Article 284 of the Criminal Code” for disturbing public order, Samorokovskaja said.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
