An 84-year-old participant in the operation against the “forest brothers” was imprisoned in Lithuania

Lithuania has sentenced former Soviet security officer Stanislovas Drelingas, who was found guilty of participating in the operation to detain the commander of the "forest brothers" Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas in 1956. The 84-year-old defendant received five years in prison under the genocide article.

The prosecutor's office demanded that Drelingas be sentenced to seven years in prison. He himself insisted on his innocence, denying his participation in the operation against the "forest brothers".

The verdict has not yet entered into force, it can be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal.

Delphi (Lithuania)

• In March 2014, the Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled that the persecution of partisans who fought against the Soviet authorities in the post-war years could amount to genocide. Such a qualification is possible if the goal of the complete or partial destruction of any national, racial or religious group is proved.
• Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas is one of the leaders of the anti-Soviet movement in Lithuania. He was arrested by the Soviet secret services in October 1956 in Kaunas, sentenced to death and shot a year later.