The court said Danielius collected information about leaders and members of Belarusian opposition organisations in Lithuania and sent it to the journalist of the Belarusian state channel Ksenia Lebedeva. The information included photographs, footage, personal data of citizens who had fled from Lukashenko’s regime, photographs, data of pre-trial investigations, and certain data about Lithuanian citizens.
„A sufficiently large amount of information has been collected. The defendant used deception, three persons have been found as victims, and the defendant’s actions have created a threat that opposition representatives will be detained or that such actions will be carried out on their relatives,“ said Judge Rasa Paužaitė, who pronounced the judgement.
According to the judge, the court took into account the fact that the man had nine previous convictions and had not drawn any conclusions about his past.
The verdict which is not final and can be appealed against at the Lithuanian Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors have requested a 11-year imprisonment for Danielius.
The Prosecutor’s Office earlier said that Danielius, under the guise of a volunteer, was in contact with members of organisations operating in Lithuania that unite the democratic opposition to the Belarusian regime. In the aftermath of the Belarusian presidential elections in August 2020, the opposition activists moved to Lithuania to avoid arrest, imprisonment or other legal persecution.
The Lithuanian man was found to be visiting the premises of Belarusian opposition organisations and participating in events. The prosecutors had said he allegedly collected and passed on information about the opposition’s activities, ongoing projects, sources of funding, persons involved in the organisations and their meetings from January 2022to February 2023.
Danielius pleads not guilty.