“It is important to clarify the circumstances so that this vicious practice of politicians commenting on investigations prior to officials does not recur. I consider the President’s actions to be irresponsible talking which has undermined mutual trust between Lithuanian and Polish officials and could have also damaged the pre-trial investigation,” Bilotaitė was cited as saying in the ministry’s press release.
“I have addressed the Prosecutor General’s Office in order to clarify all the circumstances and to assess whether there were any irregularities in the publication of this sensitive information without the authorisation of the prosecutor in charge of the case,” the minister said.
President Nausėda told a press conference on 19 April that two people suspected of beating Vilnius-based Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov had been arrested in Poland. He also briefed the media about the possible transfer of the detainees to Lithuania.
The interior minister asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to assess whether the president’s actions do not constitute an offence under Article 247 of the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for the unauthorised disclosure of pre-trial investigation data.
Volkov was attacked and injured while sitting in a car outside his house in Vilnius on 12 March. The attacker broke a car window, sprayed tear gas and started hitting him with a hammer.
A pre-trial investigation over non-severe health impairment was launched, a crime punishable by restriction of liberty or by arrest or by a custodial sentence for a term of up to three years.
Volkov was a colleague of the Kremlin's critic Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison in February. He left Russia due to a threat of arrest and currently resides in Lithuania.
