In Prosecutor General’s Office having examined the open letter of the Jewish Community of Lithuania sent to the supreme officials of the State and Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania regarding alleged prosecution of anti-Nazi partisans of Jewish nationality we hereby responsible stress and ensure that the statements of the said letter are inconsistent with the facts. The Jewish Community of Lithuania misinterprets the current situation or is deliberately mislead by artificially escalating and selectively using the members of the nation which suffered most due to Holocaust and, therefore, is particularly sensitive about the policy of Nazi occupation, their crimes against humanity and even more about different assessment of undoubtedly legitimate and just fight against Nazism.

We would like to explain that the Prosecutor General’s Office conducts no new pre-trial investigations in respect of war crimes or crimes against humanity against civil Lithuanian residents (who were protected by the norms of international humanitarian law against illegal acts by the occupants as well as armed resistance structures) committed by soviet partisans who were of many different nations.

Since the restoration of statehood of the Republic of Lithuania 225 pretrial investigations in respect of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Nazi and Soviet occupations have been initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office and territorial Prosecutor’s Offices. 4 of such investigations were initiated regarding the crimes against the civil residents of an occupied State allegedly committed by the Soviet partisan squads during the World War II in the territory of Lithuania.

Currently pre-trial investigation acts are conducted in several criminal cases initiated during previous years and regarding crimes against humanity and war crimes against civil and other residents of Lithuania allegedly committed by the Soviet partisan squads during the World War II by brutally murdering, grievously injuring, burning homesteads and other property, committing other acts against civil population and prisoner of war prohibited by the international humanitarian law during the war or occupation. Among such cases one should be mentioned. In this case pre-trial investigation was initiated on 19 May 2005 on the grounds of articles 100 and 101 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania. Besides other members of the Soviet partisan squad “Vilnius” allegedly criminal acts of Y. Arad, citizen of Israel, are investigated in this case. Also, the District Prosecutor’s Office of Švenčionys region conducts a pre-trial investigation regarding murders of civil residents of Kaniūkai village, Šalčininkai district, which was surrounded in the morning of 29 January 1944 by 300 Soviet partisans. The village was burned down and 38 people murdered (minors including), other wounded. During pre-trial investigation it has been established that all the residents (men, women, children) were shot during the said war crime. According to the data of the investigation of archive documents conducted by the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania, the following soviet partisan squads took part in the execution: “Margiris”, “Mirtis fašizmui” (“Death to Fascism”), “Mirtis okupantams” (“Death to Occupants”). Investigation of this case was initiated on 11 October 2001; allegedly criminal acts committed by the Soviet partisans who mainly consisted of non-Jews are being established and investigated.

It should be noted that the territorial Prosecutor’s Offices also investigate two more criminal cases regarding alleged crimes against humanity and military crimes committed by the Soviet partisans. One of them was initiated in 1999 regarding murder of 4 civil people on 9 June 1944 in Paskutiškis village, Jonava district, committed by the Soviet partisans. Another was initiated in 1993 regarding shooting of 14 civil residents on 24 June 1944 in Musteika village, Varėna district, allegedly committed by the Soviet partisans.

In the said criminal cases the persons who are of interest to the investigation are of different nationalities and include people of different nationalities that lived in Lithuania at that time (Russians, Byelorussians, Lithuanians) Jews including. Some of the said persons are questioned as witnesses (e.g. purportedly prosecuted F. Brancovskaja who was questioned on 29 May 2008 only as a witness in the criminal case of Kaniūkai village murders), while in respect of others, when sufficient data and objective grounds are available, resolutions on suspicion of war crimes or crimes against humanity are drawn up (e.g. Y. Arad) and procedural measures are applied to question them as suspects.

It should be emphasized that the Prosecution Service and prosecutors controlling pre-trial investigations strictly follow the common principle of equality of persons before law despite their origin, nationality, race, religion or political views, other kinds of connection, specified both in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania. During pre-trial investigation only the persons who were to be alive and whose evidence could be of any importance when establishing objective truth in the case by confirming or denying relevant factual circumstances are questioned. Majority of alleged participants or witnesses of the crimes are already dead.

It should be stressed that both when establishing the fate of the person and when questioning him as a witness or when drawing up resolutions on suspicion of war crimes or crimes against humanity in respect of certain person and starting prosecution thereof, nationality never was nor is, may not be nor ever shall be the grounds for prosecution of a person. Only the data received during pre-trial investigation and enabling to assume that signs of crimes that are regarded by the national criminal laws and international criminal and humanitarian law as extremely grave and punishable illegal acts i.e. crimes against humanity and war crimes (Criminal acts specified in the Section XV of the Criminal Code of the republic of Lithuania) can be found in the actions of certain persons can serve as such grounds. Whereas the guilt of a person of committing the crime incriminated upon him is established and confirmed only by a court judgment which has come into power.