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Six Lithuanian nationals have filed a war crimes indictment against former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
It is learned that their lawsuit is related to the events in Vilnius in January 1991 when the country declared its independence.
During this bloody conflict 14 unarmed civilians were killed and more than 700 people were injured.
On the eve of the 31st anniversary of this event, the relatives of the victims have called on the authorities for justice.
They have accused Gorbachev of co-perpetrating the crime because of his control over the Soviet army and his inability to prevent an “international crime” against Lithuanian citizens.
In 2019, a Lithuanian court convicted dozens of Soviet-era war crimes officials, but prosecutors refused to investigate the former USSR leader.
“It is clear that the military forces would not act if they did not coordinate with Gorbachev“, Said Robertas Povilatis.
After 50 years of Soviet occupation, Lithuania managed to gain its independence. Thousands of citizens gathered in front of the radio and television building on January 13, 1991.
Recall that most of the 67 people convicted of war crimes in Lithuania were convicted in absentia, including former Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, who died in 2020.
The refusal to investigate Gorbachev, now 90, has angered the victims’ relatives.
The Soviet Union recognized the independence of the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in August and September 1991. Since then these three states are now part of NATO and the European Union.
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