In Lithuania, the Klaipeda District Court on April 15 found the couple Mindaugas Januitis and Tetiana Beletska guilty of espionage for Belarus. They were sentenced to several years in prison.
This was reported by the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.
It is noted that the hearing of this case was held in closed session, and Judge Edita Lapinskiene announced only the introductory and final parts of the verdict.
Thus, Januitis was sentenced to 7 years in prison, and Beletsky to 6 years and 6 months. The court also decided to include more than 2 years spent in a pre-trial detention center in their sentences.
According to the verdict, the roommates were recognized as spies who performed tasks in favor of “another state or its organization and acted as part of an organized group.”
An appeal against the decision of the Klaipeda Court in the Court of Appeal is possible within 20 days.
In addition to the actual prison terms, the court also ordered the confiscation of over 8,500 euros belonging to Beletsky and 997 euros received from the sale of a car belonging to Januitis. Mobile phones, a Toyota Corolla and a video recorder will also be confiscated.
According to the investigation, in May 2022, Januitis and Beletska, who are Lithuanian citizens, traveled to Minsk, where, through an intermediary, they agreed on contacts and further cooperation with representatives of the Belarusian special services.
It is alleged that after this meeting and until their arrest in November 2023, the roommates carried out tasks for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. On behalf of this organization, in exchange for monetary and other rewards, they allegedly collected and transmitted information of interest to the military structures of a “foreign state” in Lithuania and Latvia.