2013 08 22

Lithuanian court starts hearing appeal of terrorism-convict Eglė Kusaitė

The Lithuanian Court of Appeals on Thursday started hearing appeals in the case of Eglė Kusaitė, 24, who was found guilty on terrorism charges and sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Apeliacijų nagrinėjimas E.Kusaitės byloje
Eglė Kusaitė / Rūtos Strakšaitės nuotr.

Both Kusaitė and the Prosecutor General's Office appealed against Vilnius Regional Court's ruling to sentence Kusaitė to 10 months in prison for planning a terrorist attack in Chechnya. Kusaitė is asking the court for a total acquittal.

Taking into account the time of her pre-trail detention, Vilnius Regional Court ruled that Kusaitė had already served her time. The court cleared her of charges of having organized a criminal group with the brother and sister Magmadov to carry out a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General's Office wants Kusaitė found guilty on both charges. The Office also believes that the court imposed a lighter sentence than the law provides for.

Vilnius Regional Court noted in its ruling that Kusaitė's actions failed to do any damage, the woman was positively characterized and committed a crime due to her social environment and a lack of life experience.

Kusaite arrived for the Thursday hearing accompanied by her lawyer Kęstutis Stungys and a large number of her supporters, including dissident Nijolė Sadūnaitė and MP Naglis Puteikis.

The Court of Appeals decided to hold a public hearing, despite the prosecutor's request to hold a closed-door hearing.

Kusaitė was detained at a bus station in Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas in October 2009.

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