Directly from Vilnius
Reports on the Lileikis Trial: Mirror of
Lithuanian Press
A Trial With White Smocks
The Physicians‘ Prognoses
Came True:
Lileikis Had Severe Health Problems In Courtroom
By Gintaras Miksiunas (Mikshioonas)
'Lietuvos Zinios' 6 November 1998 (No. 123), p. 1, 9
[With four pictures by Ramunas
Danisevicius; three of Lileikis, one of Joel Lion with his mobile phone
and pen, titled „The entire session was commented from the courtroom to
someone abroad by mobile phone“]
Yesterday Aleksandras
Lileikis, accused of Jewish genocide during the Second World war, was
brought to the Vilnius District court in a wheelchair. However, his
appearance in the temporary „means of transport“ before the judges, State
accusators, lawyers, and numerous journalists brought no real change in the
historical case which has got stuck.
Lileikis sat in the wheelchair
in the court rooom as well, carefully protected by a group of physicians
in white smocks. One of the participants ordered to the session was
Henrikas Ulevicius, deputy director of the Vilnius University hospital
and chairman of the medical commission which examined Lileikis‘ health.
The Lileikis allies Mindaugas
Murza and Petras Cidzikas kept reserved. The police did not allow the
latter to unfold a poster. After only fifteen minutes of the trial
session a break had to be made because the 91-year-old accused suddenly
felt ill after the first formal questions. He did not hear at all what
the judge said. A woman standing besides him repeated all the questions
to him.
Being without conscience,
Lileikis‘ relatives immediately took him to the judges‘ room, where
physicians tried to give him first aid. Lileikis had a beginning
stenocardic attack in the courtroom, the pain in his heart increased,
and he felt dizzy. At about 9.50 the physicians at hand in the courtroom
wheeled Lileikis out of the room and took him to the Vilnius University
Hospital in Santariskes.
The team of judges only formally
managed to fix one important moment in the proceedings in this
complicated criminal case: they declared that the case was now started
to be examined in depth. The former chief of the Vilnius district
Security Police Aleksandras Lileikis is charged with carrying out the
will of the occupant Nazi regime from August, 1941 to July, 1944 and
condemning some Lithuanian Jewish inmates of the Hard Labor Prison to
physical annihilation. He is considered to have mediated in the killing
of 75 Vilnius inhabitants of Jewish nationality, out of whom only one
survive. After consideration with the State accusers and Lileikis‘
defender, the court decided without any discussion that the trial could
start even without participation of the victim Danuta Konas, who was ill
(she arrived in the courtroom later) and the requested witnesses. As it
is known, that the witness Jonas Bukauskas died in Kaunas without having
seen the trial begin. Kazys Gimzauskas, Lileikis‘ deputy in the
Nazi-subordinated Vilnius district Security Police, did not appear at
court because of his age and bad state of health.
After having answered some
formal questions about his identity, Lileikis turned to the „High Court“
with a weak voice but speaking clearly and quite calmly. He said he had
dedicated all his spiritual and physical power to the Lithuanian state
and nation.
Lileikis said that at the age of
92, he was exhausted and chained to the bed, and only with the help of
good people had he come to the courtroom. He did not plead guilty, added
that he was „absolutely not feeling guilty“ and said the Paternoster
prayer. According to the doctor Mr. Ulevicius, the physicians were able
to state if the early-stadium stenocardic attack would develop to a
second infarct only in ten days‘ time. That is also the time to decide
if it is possible to order Mr. Lileikis to the court sessions again. The
judges‘ team decided to postpone the examination of the case until
Monday and ask for the latest data from the medical examination.
[About 1 ½ pages altogether]
From Vilnius: SLW
for haGalil.com
Mirror of Lithuanian Press
  
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