Russian National Mel Returns Home After 9 Years In Lithuanian Prison - Foreign Ministry

Umer Jamshaid Published March 10, 2023 | 06:41 PM

Russian national and military officer Yuri Mel, who had spent nine years in a Lithuanian prison on charges that Moscow considers unlawful, has been released from custody and extradited, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2023) Russian national and military officer Yuri Mel, who had spent nine years in a Lithuanian prison on charges that Moscow considers unlawful, has been released from custody and extradited, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday.

"On March 10, our citizen, retired Colonel Yuri Mel, was released from a Lithuanian prison and returned to Russia. As you know, he was illegally convicted in Lithuania as part of a trumped-up political case about the tragic events in Vilnius on January 13, 1991," Zakharova said in a statement.

The spokeswoman noted that multiple appeals filed on Mel's behalf to ask the Lithuanian judiciary to overturn or commute the sentence had been rejected.

"Blinded by the thirst for political revenge, the Lithuanian authorities and judges neglected elementary human norms, not even taking into account the humanitarian factor � the poor health of the Russian citizen suffering from a serious illness.

Moreover, the Lithuanian justice even toughened his sentence by increasing the previous term by three years," Zakharova added.

According to the spokeswoman, the Russian embassy in Vilnius fully supported Mel during his imprisonment, regularly visiting him and providing the necessary "consular, legal, informational and other assistance." The embassy also persuaded the Lithuanian prison authorities to improve prison conditions and provide Mel with medical care.

Mel, a former Russian army officer, was detained in Lithuania in 2014. In March 2019, he and dozens other Russian citizens were found guilty of killings during the clashes in Vilnius in January 1991 following unsanctioned protests. Mel was initially sentenced to seven years in prison, but the sentence was later extended by three more years and then reduced by one year. He never pleaded guilty.