As patriots of Lithuania, who recognize the ideal of a state under the rule of law, we feel obligated to share our doubts regarding the extradition case of Lithuanian judge Neringa Venckiene.
We live in Lithuania and the whole time – since 2008, until now – we have been following the development of the pedophilia case, and we testify that the investigation of the case was negligent, biased, and in violation of the principles of the rule of law.
Not a single death or a murder has been investigated in this case. The two main participants, Andrius Usas and Drasius Kedys, have been found dead under suspicious circumstances. On May 17th, 2012, the taking of Deimante Kedyte, the key person/child in the pedophilia case who Neringa Venckiene wanted to protect, was a flagrant act of coercion (see here, here, and here).
The girl has been turned into a secret of the state. Her grandparents and other relatives are deprived of any right to know her condition, let alone see her. A Public Commission composed of well-recognized lawyers, on June 27th, 2012, found a number of violations of the Constitution of Lithuania, as well as the Rights of a Child, during the girl’s transfer from the home of N. Venckiene (see here).
In this case, the state broke the social contract with the public and enforced its version by the means of coercion. Still to this day, ordinary people are being persecuted, and they only asked for transparency and justice by praying and singing the Lithuanian anthem.
The persecution of Neringa Venckiene is part of that coercion. As a Member of Parliament, N. Venckiene was deprived of her parliamentary immunity on April 9th, 2013 based on the secret recording of the police operation on May 17th, which the prosecutor refused to provide to the Parliament.
Therefore, we evaluate the request of the Lithuanian authorities regarding the extradition of Neringa Venckiene as a continuation of the political crackdown. All the facts indicate that Neringa Venckiene will not receive a fair and unbiased trial in Lithuania.
We agree with the words of the leader of the Independence Movement of our country, Vytautas Landsbergis that in this case we saw “justice without man.” We are forced to bring accusations against our own Republic in order to restore confidence in our country and the rule of law, as did French intellectuals Emile Zola and George Clemenceau in the Dreyfus Affair (1894–1906). And we stand on the side of the principle of the American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
We acknowledge and support the concerns expressed by U.S. Congressmen Chris Smith and Randy Hultgren, and we encourage granting political asylum for Neringa Venckiene in the United States.
Respectfully,
political prisoner, priest Robertas Grigas
political prisoner, sister Nijolė Sadūnaitė – 2017 metų Laisvės premijos laureatė
political prisoner Petras Plumpa
doctor of social sciences Vytautas Rubavičius
doctor of social sciences Andrius Švarplys
writer, dramatist Liudvikas Jakimavičius
doctor of social sciences Krescencijus Stoškus
photographer Juozas Valiušaitis
actress Rimantė Valiukaitė