“The verdict will definitely be enforced,” lawyer Raimundas Jurka, who represented the party in court, told BNS on Monday.
According to him, this week the party will also make an official decision on whether to file a cassation appeal.
“I evaluate the verdict unequivocally negatively, I did not find any convincing reasoning of the court that the crimes committed were coordinated with the political party Liberal Movement – everything was done behind the party’s back. A political party is not a closed joint-stock company or a joint-stock company. The court confused different things, considered the mentioned persons as members of the party, and not as individual members of the Seimas”, said R. Jurka to BNS.
In this case, the former leader of the Liberal Movement, Eligijus Masiulis, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, deprived of the right to be elected or appointed to all positions elected or appointed by state or municipal institutions and institutions, companies or non-governmental organizations for five years, confiscation of the money received as a bribe – 242.4 thousand . euros.
In addition to him, two other ex-liberals were convicted in the case – Gintaras Steponavičius and Šarūnas Gustainis.
18.8 thousand was allocated to Š. Gustainis. EUR fine, as well as being deprived of the right to be elected or appointed to office for five years, and it was decided to recover 4.3 thousand from him. euros.
More than 15 thousand was assigned to G. Steponavičius. EUR fine and prohibition to be elected or appointed to the aforementioned positions for four years.
“According to the law, in theory, it is supposed to be paid independently within two months, the court did not speak, in general it did not explain the procedure for paying fines. We are wondering whether this is a mistake, or a deliberate omission, or whether this is the current practice. For now, I cannot say what we are thinking,” G. Steponavičius’ lawyer Rimgaudas Černius told BNS.
“The verdict in the part regarding G. Steponavičius is strange, I will recommend the client to appeal in the cassation procedure,” he said.
The appellate court recognized that G. Steponavičius abused his office.
The court found that G. Steponavičius, knowing that the amendments to the Law on Consumer Credit provided by Š. Gustainius were important to R. Kurlianski, as a representative of the then “MG Baltic”, sought to obtain financial benefits – support for financing the political activities of the Liberal movement and other party members.
“G.Steponavičius and R.Kurlianskis specifically agreed on the allocation of this political support, bypassing the requirements of legal acts, during several meetings,” announced the Court of Appeal.
According to the court, with his actions as a member of the Seimas, G. Steponavičius broke the oath taken as a member of the Seimas, violated the principles of honesty, transparency, decency, selflessness, and impartiality, and as a result, both the Seimas and the State of Lithuania suffered great non-pecuniary damage.
Š. Gustainis has called the verdict against him “empty” and promises to appeal it. On Monday, his lawyer Aleksandar Doroshev could not say anything about the client’s cassation appeal or about the payment of the fine.
Š. Gustainis was expelled from the party while still having the status of a special witness, he himself resigned from the Vilnius City Council. G. Steponavičius, who was questioned in the same status, also suspended his membership in the party, in 2020 he did not participate in the Seimas elections.
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2024-08-09 03:48:28
