An Appeal to the Political and Social Organisations in Lithuania and Abroad

Concerning the Violations against Democracy and Human Rights that Are Being Committed by the Lithuanian Judiciary in Connection to the Events of the 13th of January, 1991, in Vilnius.

   January the 9th, 2013, Vilnius

   We appeal to all of the democratic political and social forces in Lithuania and abroad with the aim to turn the attention to the political persecutions of Lithuanian citizens.

   On the 22nd of January the Court session of the Highest Court of Lithuania will take place during which the final verdict for politician Algirdas Paleckis will be read out. A. Paleckis has been penalized by the lower instance court with a huge fine for his courage to state, that on the 13th of January, 1991 “our own people were shooting at their natives”. (That night 14 people were killed in circumstances that have not been properly investigated yet when the Soviet soldiers were taking over the TV tower and the committee. The Lithuanian prosecuting magistracy is avoiding the all-round investigation.) A. Paleckis, when stating that, was referring to a few accessible sources and to the plentiful testimonies by witnesses.

   On the 30th of January a court proceeding of the Vilnius District Court is scheduled to take place, during which a Vilnius citizen Jaunutis Lekas, who during the trial of A. Paleckis testified that he saw shots from the roofs and that he did not see the Soviet soldiers to be shooting at the people, will be tried against the court. He will be tried on the basis of “false testimony”, he is facing up to two years in prison. Another witness - Danguolė Raugalienė from Vilnius – has already been given a huge fine for “false testimony” for a similar testimony, she is about to make an appeal soon.

   We invite the democratic political and social forces and individual citizens to express their protest over these cases in the means possible to them and when convenient to them: by letters, petitions, pickets, demonstrations, other means.

   Our main demands:

   - to terminate the illegal persecution of political opponents for their opinion as being incompatible with the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights and with the European Convention of the fundamental rights and freedoms;

   - to initiate the International Independent Commission of Experts for the objective and all-round investigation of the events of the 13th of January, 1991, in Vilnius; Our strength – is in Solidarity.

   Association „Lietuva be nacizmo“[Lithuania without Nazism]

   The addresses where these protests can be sent to:

   President of Lithuania

   Ms Dale Grybauskaite

   Daukanto a. 3, Vilnius, Lithuania

   president@president.lt

   Chairman of Parliament of Lithuania

   Mr Vydas Gedvilas

   Gedimino pr. 53, Vilnius, Lithuania

   vygedv@lrs.lt

   Prime Minister of Lithuania

   Mr Algirdas Butkevičius

   Gedimino pr. 11 , Vilnius, Lithuania

   albutk@lrs.lt

   Minister of Justice of Lithuania

   Mr Juozas Bernatonis

   Gedimino pr. 30 , Vilnius, Lithuania

   jubern@lrs.lt