MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. The attempts of Lithuanian officials to tamper with the evidence in the case on January 1991 events in the country reflect the destructive course of Vilnius against Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Vilnius Regional Court, which pronounced its verdict on the case of the January 1991 events in Lithuania on Wednesday, has sentenced former Soviet military serviceman Yuri Mel to seven years behind bars.
The list of the defendants includes over 60 individuals, but only two of them appeared in the dock. One of them is Russian citizen Yuri Mel, an Armed Forces veteran and retired Colonel who was detained in Lithuania in March 2014. The second man is a Russian national and former military serviceman Gennady Ivanov, who resides in Vilnius. He was sentenced to four years behind bars. All the rest have been charged in absentia.
The ministry noted that during the court proceedings, basic principles of justice have been undermined. "They ignored witness statements disproving the involvement of Soviet military servicemen to the death of civilians on that tragic day. The attempts of the officials to tamper with obvious facts with the aid of court manipulations only reflect the destructive course of the current Lithuanian government against Russia," the Russian ministry stressed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also blasted the non-admission of Russian diplomats and media representatives to the sentencing hearing as highly unfriendly and provocative actions that show the court’s political bias.
The case regarding the events of 1991, which has been under review for three years, is the biggest in the history of Lithuania’s judicial system, both in terms of the number of people involved and the amount of case files. Investigators handed over 700 volumes of documents to the court, and the indictment covers 13 volumes.
A total of 14 people lost their lives in the Lithuanian capital during the dual power period and street clashes. Lithuania seeks to pin the blame for civilian deaths on the Soviet political leadership and the military. However, the evidence base has raised serious doubts among the defense. Alternative versions, such as provocations, are being dismissed by investigators as "hostile propaganda.".