The Migration Department will propose to revoke I. Liepa’s citizenship

“In the near future, the Migration Department, after evaluating all the received information, will prepare and send a submission to the Ministry of the Interior with a proposal to apply to the President of the Republic regarding the loss of citizenship”, according to the comment submitted by the BNS department on Tuesday.

The Migration Department previously appealed to the competent authorities to evaluate I. Liepa’s statements about the war in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Department of State Security confirmed to BNS that it has submitted a response to the Migration Department, but no institution has commented on its content in detail.

According to the Law on Citizenship, a person loses Lithuanian citizenship acquired in an exceptional manner, if he threatens the security interests of Lithuania by his actions, publicly expresses support for a state that threatens the security interests of Lithuania or other European Union member states, their allies.

Following this provision, President Gitanas Nausėda revoked the Lithuanian citizenship of ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko. She and her husband Povilas Vanag participated in the projects prepared by the wife of the press representative of the Russian president.

Regarding the deprivation of I. Liepa’s citizenship, G. Nausėda previously said that he was waiting for the relevant appeal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the proposals of the Citizenship Affairs Commission.

The initiative to revoke the ballerina’s citizenship was taken after I. Liepa, who holds Lithuanian and Russian citizenships, condemned the Baltic countries for their behavior and expressed support for the war in Ukraine started by Russian President V. Putin in an interview with the Russian media.

After Lithuania started the procedure for revocation of the citizenship granted by exception, the ballerina stated that she did not intend to change.

In the 2000s, the daughter of Mario Liepa, the Latvian ballet master of Soviet origin, was exceptionally granted Lithuanian citizenship. Then it was announced that the soloist of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater was granted citizenship for having danced with the Lithuanian ballet artist Petr Skirmantas for more than a decade.