A Lithuanian man has been sentenced to a total of 90 days in prison after being convicted of desecrating a foreign national symbol, inciting hatred against a national group and disturbing public order.
The Panevėžys District Court handed down the sentence this week, combining a new 50-day term with a previous conviction. The man will serve his sentence at Šiauliai Prison.
The defendant, Lukas Vaičekonis, a 28-year-old resident of Pasvalys district who worked as a ride-hailing driver in Panevėžys, was found guilty of stealing a Ukrainian flag from the Special Investigation Service building in the city and vandalising a car bearing Ukrainian registration plates.
The incident took place in June 2024. During the night, an officially hoisted Ukrainian flag, including its wooden pole and metal tip, was removed from the building. It was found later that night in another part of the city, thrust through a smashed window of a Toyota car with Ukrainian plates.
Upon his arrest, Vaičekonis confessed to taking down the flag and forcing it into the car after breaking all its windows with a hammer. He acknowledged having targeted the vehicle specifically because of its Ukrainian registration.
The car belonged to a Lithuanian man who had settled and started a family in Ukraine before the war. When Russia's full-scale invasion began, his wife and children used the vehicle to flee to Panevėžys.
"The suspect admits his guilt and states that his actions expressed a negative attitude towards war refugees from Ukraine living in Lithuania and towards Lithuania's support for the country," said Mindaugas Ražauskas, the prosecutor who led the pre-trial investigation.
Vaičekonis, a former emigrant with a criminal record abroad, told investigators he resented Ukrainian refugees receiving social benefits and claimed they were willing to work for lower wages, undercutting local workers.
The court partially upheld a civil claim brought by the car's owner, ordering Vaičekonis to pay €1,400 in material damages and €700 in non-material damages, plus five per cent annual interest. He was also ordered to pay €587 to the state to cover legal aid costs incurred by the victim.
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