| Lithuania starves out businessman Borisov The First City Court of Vilnius yesterday decided to return the passport of a Russian citizen to Lithuanian businessman and Russian citizen Yuri Borisov on bail of about 60 thousand euros. The court ordered the migration department to put a stamp in the passport giving the right to reside in Lithuania until December 10 of this year. However, the court upheld the undertaking not to leave the place, which the entrepreneur asked to cancel, since it prevented him from conducting business.
Yuri Borisov became famous in connection with the scandalous resignation of the country's President Rolandas Paksas in April of this year. The businessman financed Paksas' election campaign in 2003. Mr. Borisov lives with his family in Lithuania, but owns a helicopter repair plant in St. Petersburg. At one time, he decided that it would be more beneficial for him to be a Russian citizen. When Paksas took office in March 2003, he returned Borisov’s automatically lost Lithuanian citizenship with the wording “for special merits.”
Almost a year ago, the Constitutional Court of Lithuania considered the entrepreneur’s merits insufficient, and the presidential decree as a bribe to the sponsor. Based on the court decision, the migration department immediately ordered Borisov to be deported and deprived of his passport. He was even denied the right to temporarily reside in Lithuania.
However, it turned out to be impossible to expel Borisov. The criminal case of blackmail of Mr. Paksas by Mr. Borisov has already reached the court. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights accepted Yuri Borisov’s complaint for consideration. No one doubts that Borisov will win his case in Strasbourg - after all, the businessman insists that the Lithuanian authorities are separating him from his family.
The half-hearted decision of the Vilnius City Court suggests that they want to starve out the stubborn businessman. A recognizance not to leave does not allow a businessman to conduct business in St. Petersburg. The Lithuanian authorities clearly hope that Yuri Borisov will give up on everything and of his own free will move with his family to live in Russia. Vladimir SKRIPOV, Vilnius |
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