Six Lithuanians filed a lawsuit Thursday, January 13 against the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for a war crime against the independence of this Baltic state, during the deadly Soviet attack of January 13, 1991.
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On the occasion of the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of these clashes, those relatives of the victims are calling for justice.
In this attack, 14 unarmed civilians lost their lives and more than 700 people were injured.
Thousands of independentists had gathered around the radio-television tower and other key buildings in the capital to try to prevent the takeover by the Russians.
Dozens of Soviet-era officials convicted
In 2019, a Lithuanian court convicted dozens of Soviet-era officials of war crimes, but prosecutors in the country refused to investigate Gorbachev, now 90, who was in power in the country. 'era. This refusal aroused the anger of the complainants. They claim that the former leader of the USSR had control of the Soviet army, but failed to stop this "
international crime
" against the Lithuanians, in search of freedom after 50 years of Soviet occupation.
“
It is clear that the actions of the military forces would not have been possible without coordination with Gorbachev
,” said Robertas Povilaitis, who lost his father.
He considers that the trial is "
very important
" but if one does not consider the responsibility of the commander-in-chief, "
justice is not complete
".
Most of the 67 people convicted of war crimes in Lithuania have been tried in absentia, including former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, who died in 2020.
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While several Soviet-era Lithuanian officials have been jailed for their actions, other suspects have remained elusive in Russia and Belarus.
Lithuania and the other Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, gained international recognition later in 1991 after five decades of Soviet occupation, before joining the EU and NATO in 2004.
