Political prisoner Algirdas Paleckis was found guilty of insulting forest brothers

On March 13, 2025, Kaunas District Court passed a verdict in the case concerning anti-fascist politician Algirdas Paleckis. Previously, he was acquitted on this charge, as it was not proved that he had committed an offense or misdemeanor, Baltija portal reported.

However, the Kaunas District Court satisfied the prosecutor's complaint, recognizing that A. Paleckis' actions related to slandering the Forest Brothers were premeditated and he committed the crime while in custody. The final term of imprisonment for A. Paletskis amounted to 1 year, 10 months and 18 days. That is how long he will have to spend behind bars.

It is unclear whether this term will be added to the term imposed on him for “attempted espionage”, which expires in July 2026.

“Find guilty of gross denial of the crime of genocide and sentence him to 1 year and 1 month in prison,” was the sentence. The prosecutor's office argued that A. Paleckis humiliated his brothers in the forest by claiming the deaths of 25,000 civilians, including 1,000 infants, were their fault after the war.

However, A. Paleckis was acquitted on charges of defamation against the deputy, conservative Lauriņs Kasciūnas. The judges considered that his actions were not dangerous enough to entail criminal liability. According to the court, politicians and other public figures should be more tolerant of harsh and unjustified criticism.