January 13 case

A pre-trial investigation against Algirdas Paleckis, a Lithuanian politician suspected of spying for Russia, has been completed, Lithuania's Prosecutor General's Office said on Tuesday.

Lithuania's Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevicius on Thursday introduced the chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to the high-profile January 13 case, and also informed about the prosecution of the case's investigators and judges, launched by Ru...

Lithuania is asking Russia to ensure the security of its embassy in Moscow after its staff received a threatening letter.

Lithuania has delivered a diplomatic note to Russia over threats to its embassy staff and their family members in Moscow.

Lithuania's Prosecutor General's Office has decided to appeal against the Regional Court of Vilnius' ruling in the high-profile January 13 case.

Russia's decision to open criminal cases against the Lithuanian prosecutors and judges working on the Jan. 13 case is an attempt to influence their work, Lithuania's Prosecutor General Evaldas Pašilis says, adding that it runs counter to the democratic principles of justice.

Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktoras Pranckietis on Monday accused Moscow of putting pressure on Lithuanians officials after Russia launched a probe against the judges and prosecutors working on the January 13 case.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, will not be part of the court proceedings in Lithuania which try to bring to justice individuals responsible for civilian deaths during the attempted coup of January 1991 in Vilnius.

To ensure a swifter and smoother hearing of the January 13 case, Vilnius County Court has decided to appoint substitute lawyers for all defendants with state-provided lawyers.

Due to the crisis in relations with Moscow, the European Union (EU) is currently unable to pressure Russia into cooperating with Lithuania on the January 13 coup case, says EU Ambassador to Moscow Vygaudas Ušackas.

Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sceptical about the possibility of securing Russia's assistance in the January 13 coup case through diplomatic channels.

The lawyers for the defendants in the case surrounding the bloody attempted coup of 13 January 1991 told a Lithuanian court on Monday that their clients would plead not guilty.

Soviet Union's Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov has been named in the so-called January 13 case in Lithuania. He is accused of establishing in late 1990 an organized group of 160 army officers and political figures, aimed at re-incorporating Lithuania into the USSR, according to the indictment drafted ...

Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian citizens charged in the January 13, 1991, coup in Lithuania case may stand trial in absentia, a Vilnius court ruled on Friday.

Justice will not be achieved in full in the January 13, 1991, attempted coup case without the presence of the former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, according to Lithuania's first post-independence leader, Vytautas Landsbergis.

Hearings of the Vilnius County Court were interrupted on Wednesday after one of the lawyers fell ill in the courtroom. Ambulance was called to the courthouse and the hearing was adjourned.