Lithuania sentences man to 9 years jail over spying for Belarus

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - A Lithuanian court on Friday handed a prison sentence of nine years to a man convicted of spying for Belarus, local media reported.

The verdict was delivered to Mantas Danielius, a lawyer of Lithuanian nationality, by a regional court in the capital Vilnius, according to public broadcaster LRT.

Prosecutors have maintained that the pre-trial investigation into espionage was opened in late September 2022.

Investigators found that Danielius had been carrying out tasks for a Belarusian national cooperating with the neighboring country's intelligence forces, gathering and passing on information to her since January 2022.

Investigators maintained that Danielius visited the offices of Belarusian opposition groups and attended events, collecting and passing on information about their activities, ongoing projects, sources of funding, members, and their meetings.

He was also accused of collecting and possibly sharing information about the Kalinouski Regiment, a Belarusian volunteer military unit fighting for Ukraine.