Lithuania to prosecute ex-soviet soldiers in 1991 crackdown

Lithuanian authorities have opened a mass trial against former soviet officials who had a hand in the deadly January 13, 1991 crackdown. Over 65 former Soviet soldiers will be on trial for their involvement in war crimes, torture, crimes against humanity and other offenses.

Only two suspects attended the hearing: Former tank officer Yuri Mel and a Vilnius resident who is reportedly cooperating with the authorities. Both entered a plea of not guilty and argued that they were merely following orders.  

Mel has been under Lithuanian custody since March 2014 at the Lithuanian border effectively preventing him to cross with Russia's Kaliningrad enclave, according to Reuters. The other defendants including the last Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, KGB officers, military leaders and members of the Communist party are believed to be in Russia.

Lithuanian prosecutors intend to proceed with the trial in absentia, DW reported. The massacre had left 14 civilians dead and 1000 injured. Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has been sought by Lithuanian prosecutors as witness but Russia refused extradite him along with other suspects.

Then pro-independence leader Vytautas Landsbergis criticized the prosecutor's office decision not to pursue a case against Gorbachev. In response, prosecutor said that the non-pursuit was due to lack of evidence, Washington Post reported.

"They should go to kindergarten, to elementary school, read books about those events and read testimonies of witnesses. These are pathetic prosecutors," said Landsbergis in Baltic News Service.

Gorbachev has gained praises from the west after acceding to Germany's unification and liberal reforms. However, Lithuanians blame him for failing to prevent the bloodshed.

In 1991, Soviet troops showed force when they entered Vilnius. The troops stormed the city's television power as tens of thousands of people formed human shields in protest. The secessionist movements in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia helped down the USSR rule. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the three states eventually became members of NATO and the European Union in 2014.

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Lithuania, 1991 soviet crackdown, Lithuania prosecutors, Lithuania independence, soviet soldiers, Gorbachev

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