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Lithuania to consider pardon for Russians convicted of spying next week

08 November 2019 07:02 (UTC +04:00)

A Lithuanian commission will hold a meeting on November 13 to discuss pardon requests from Russians convicted of espionage in the republic, APA reports citing TASS.

"A commission in Lithuania, which considers pardon requests, will hold a meeting on November 13. One of points on the agenda is pardoning Russian spies arrested in Lithuania," Lithuanian Presidential Spokesman Antanas Bubnelis said, according to the TV channel.

The spokesman also noted that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda would approve the relevant amendments passed by the parliament on November 11.

The Lithuanian presidential spokesman told the Baltic News Service that some 123 pardon requests were due to be considered, without giving any names.

Earlier on Thursday, Lithuania’s parliament endorsed amendments to the Criminal Code stipulating the procedure of swapping convicts with other countries. The document does not mention the term "espionage," and instead uses the expression "persons acting in the interests of the Lithuanian state’s security."

Lithuanian MP Agne Sirinskene, who chairs the Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) Committee on Legal Affairs, said that Russia and Lithuania could swap persons convicted of espionage in one or two weeks. According to Norwegian media reports, the list of persons to be swapped could include Norwegian citizen Frode Berg, who is serving his 14-year sentence over espionage in Russia. The Kremlin earlier confirmed receiving Berg’s pardon request.

Last month, the Baltic News Service reported that Lithuania and Russia had come to terms on an exchange of convicted spies. According to the report, Lithuania would hand over to Moscow Russian citizen Nikolai Filipchenko, who was convicted two years ago. In its turn, Russia will hand over two Lithuania citizens Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis, who were convicted in 2016. A Norwegian national and another Russian are reportedly on the exchange list, too.