In recent days, world media have spread the information that the leader of the Lithuanian Socialist Front, Algirdas Paleckis, has been in a Lithuanian prison for more than two months.
The Lithuanian Themis re-opened the "witch hunt", announcing the disclosure of a "network of Russian spies." Algirdas Paleckis, who has been detained in prison since October 2018, and another half dozen people, citizens of Lithuania and Russia, are accused of spying for Russia.
As is known, it is not the first time that Lithuanian law enforcement agencies have been prosecuting the well-known Lithuanian political figure A. Paleckis, who openly voiced his left-wing anti-fascist position regarding the events taking place in the republic. In 2009, A. Paleckis was accused of organizing a rally illegally, but was acquitted. In 2011, A. Paleckis was charged in connection with his statement on the air of the events of January 1991 in Vilnius. Then the fighter for the truthful coverage of the events, after which anti-Soviet hysteria began in Lithuania, hastened the coup d'état in the republic, clearly named the perpetrators of the provocation, saying: "They fired at their own people." The court of first instance acquitted A. Paleckis, but then he was awarded a large fine. This time, the political intelligence bodies of the Lithuanian state, where the pro-fascist organizations operate openly and without hindrance, decided to hide the leader of the Lithuanian left behind the prison bars more fundamentally.
Now A. Paleckis is charged with the “Case of espionage”, which is the same as the previous “cases”, “sewn with white threads”. However, the real reason for the prosecution of A. Paleckis is not his participation in “espionage in favor of Russia”, but his firm anti-fascist position and appearances condemning NATO. Even Lithuanian political scientist Thomas Janelyunas admitted that the Socialist Front, which is headed by A. Paleckis, never openly called for the overthrow of power. However, antipathy towardsit was openly expressed. “They said that the current government, no matter what party led it, is undemocratic, that the collapse of the USSR was a mistake, and membership in the EU and NATO was contrary to the interests of Lithuania.”
The above information suggests that the current actions of Lithuanian law enforcement agencies resemble the obscurantism of the punitive organs of dictatorial regimes performed in the worst traditions of McCarthyism, Pinochet's secret police and the Gestapo. Ideological intolerance, the search for “scapegoats” among dissidents and other manifestations of the weakness of the current Lithuanian regime resulted in espionage and a fabricated criminal case against Lithuanian anti-fascist oppositionists.
We, representatives of public organizations of Belarus, demand from the leadership of the Republic of Lithuania an immediate cessation of political repression, the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, among them Algirdas Paleckis, a prominent anti-fascist, defender of rights and spokesman for the legitimate interests of the Lithuanian people.
We are deeply convinced that in the current difficult times, the Lithuanian special services spent taxpayers' money to the detriment of the interests of the Lithuanian people, and the officials who gave the corresponding criminal orders discredited the Lithuanian state.
We are convinced that the Republic of Lithuania will be held as a democratic state only when law enforcement agencies serve the whole people, when human rights and civil liberties are protected, when pluralism becomes the norm, and the dark times of terror against dissidents will fade away.
Leaders of Belarusian public associations and organizations:
V.B. Zelikov, Chairman of the Republican Civil Committee of the Patriotic Public Association "Fatherland";
V.V. Draco, Chairman of the Republican Council of the public association "For Democracy, Social Progress and Justice", deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus I
L.E. Shkolnikov Secretary-Coordinator of the Republican public association "For the Union and the Communist Party of the Union";
G.I. Simanovsky, Secretary of the Coordination Council of the Left-Patriotic Organizations of Belarus "Unity";
V.V. Saevich, Chairman of the Council of the Minsk City Public Organization “New Economy”;
V.M. Ryzhenkov, Chairman, Our History Information and Educational Institution
Minsk, 01/14/2019
