Last year, President Gitanas Nausėda revoked the figure skater’s Lithuanian citizenship for publicly expressing support to the Kremlin. She had been granted citizenship by way of exception in 1993. However, Drobiazko went to court appealing against the decisions of the president, the Ministry of the Interior, the Migration Department and the Citizenship Commission under the Office of the President.
Judge Gediminas Užubalis stated Tuesday that the Constitutional Court would be asked to elucidate whether provisions of the Law on Citizenship meet the principle of equality as they stipulate that just some dual citizenship holders may lose Lithuanian citizenship. The court would have to examine why just those dual citizenship holders may lose Lithuanian citizenship who were granted it by way of exception, whereas this does not apply to other individuals with multiple citizenships.
Secondly, the panel of judges questioned whether citizenship may be stripped for activities that do not pose a threat to Lithuania’s national security interests.
Hearings in the appeal case will be suspended until the Constitutional Court delivers its judgement.
Drobiazko earlier stated that she had not publicly expressed any political views.
As reported, the Interior Ministry concluded that Drobiazko had professional and personal ties to Tatiana Navka, the wife of Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The figure skater participated in shows organised by Navka in Russia despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ministry noted that the shows were used to spread the narratives of the „Russian world“ and to boost the authority of the Kremlin.
In 2022, Drobiazko and her Lithuanian husband Povilas Vanagas performed in Sochi, Russia, in a show organised by Navka. Days after their performance in August 2022, Nausėda formally removed the pair from the list of recipients of the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, 5th class.
In September 2023, President Nausėda signed a decree stripping figure skater Drobiazko of her Lithuanian citizenship she was given in 1993 for merit in sport.