"In the
closing speech, out of all the accused, prosecutor Justas Laucius offered
Gintaras Steponavičius a minimum sentence of almost 7,000 euros and a ban on
holding senior positions in the public and private sectors for 7 years.
However, the other
participants in the case were surprised by another statement of prosecutor J.
Laucius about G. Steponavičius.
"Well, he
pointed out that the testimony of this person helped to uncover the crime. He
contributed to that, ”said Giedrius Danėlius, a lawyer at LNK.
G. Steponavičius does not talk
about his possible cooperation with the prosecutor.
"I will not
comment," - the former member of the Seimas told LNK.
However, Artūras
Zuokas, a former partner of G. Steponavičius, would not be surprised if he had
cooperated with law enforcement in order to avoid responsibility.
"At the time
of the investigation, G. Steponavičius was visiting the investigators without a
lawyer, for several days in a row. This shows that he helped to investigate
this case and reveal possible violations in order to obtain a lesser
punishment, ” - A. Zuokas discussed.
Eligijus Masiulis
and G. Steponavičius co-founded the Liberal Movement more than 15 years ago.
They were inseparable comrades until they left politics.
Whether the former
colleague could have been a traitor, E. Masiulis does not comment.
However, the
former chairman of the Liberal Movement, Eugenijus Gentvilas, does not believe
the prosecutor's statements about G. Steponavičius' cooperation.
"I
really do not suspect G. Steponavičius of any betrayal, especially since there
was nothing to betray. And again, I don’t know like others, but the Liberal
Movement cooperated as well. Does that mean betrayal? No," - said MP E.
Gentvilas.
By the way, the
prosecutor is proposing a fine of more than half a million euros for the
Liberal Movement.
In court, G.
Steponavičius did not admit his guilt, did not give any evidence about the
other accused.
"Objectively,
the circumstances of that cooperation still do not exist on the one hand. On
the other hand, the mitigating circumstance described in the Criminal Code
sounds like this - sincere confession, pity, and helping to expose the act.
As far as we took
part in the court proceedings, G. Steponavičius never pleaded guilty to having
committed any act,” - said lawyer G. Danėlius.
In the case of
political corruption, the closing speeches will be given by the defense. A
court ruling is expected in the spring."
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