The VRK has informed the Prosecutor General’s Office that the commission’s competence does not include overseeing the implementation of the Law on the Status and Working Conditions of the Members of the European Parliament Elected in the Republic of Lithuania. It said the president of the European Parliament should be addressed concerning the authorisation to prosecute an MEP.
On Thursday, Vilnius Regional Court held a hearing but did not continue the trial, instead obliging the prosecutor to refer to the European Parliament concerning Gražulis’ legal immunity. The court intends to continue the case in September.
According to the court, the Law on the Status and Working Conditions of the Members of the European Parliament Elected in the Republic of Lithuania suggests that MEPs have identical immunity from prosecution as MPs. Thus, candidates cannot be prosecuted without the VRK’s permission prior to the first sitting of the newly elected parliament. Whereas case law of the Supreme Court applied since 2012 suggests that candidates to the European Parliament have immunity from prosecution during the election period.
Gražulis is standing trial for expressing contempt for LGBT individuals in parliament when it considered the civil union bill in 2022. He approached LGBT individuals knowing that he is being filmed and berated them using slurs.
He was impeached and removed from the Seimas in December 2023 for voting for another MP.