Lithuania has stripped former Olympic basketball player Alvydas Pazdrazdis of his citizenship after it was confirmed he had acquired US nationality, news portal 15min.lt reported Wednesday.
Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič signed an order on April 8 revoking the 54-year-old’s citizenship following confirmation of his foreign nationality.
Pazdrazdis was a member of Lithuania’s basketball team that won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Mindaugas Bajarūnas, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, said the Migration Department contacted the US Embassy in Lithuania to verify the former athlete’s status. In November 2024, the embassy confirmed that Pazdrazdis has been a US citizen since 2014.
According to Bajarūnas, the Migration Department had no prior record of Pazdrazdis holding dual citizenship, and he failed to report it as required by law.
The ministry also said authorities attempted to contact Pazdrazdis regarding the matter but were unsuccessful.
Under Lithuania’s Constitution, dual citizenship is generally prohibited, except in specific cases defined by law.
Pazdrazdis is not the first former basketball player to lose Lithuanian citizenship under such circumstances. Žydrūnas Ilgauskas lost his Lithuanian passport in 2015 after acquiring US citizenship.
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