A Moroccan national escaped from the courtyard of Vilnius District Court following a hearing on Tuesday, with the police arresting him hours later. Law enforcement have now launched an inquiry into how he managed to escape the police.
“Physical force was used against a female officer – he pushed her and took advantage of that very moment to escape,” Julija Samorokovskaja, a spokesperson for the Vilnius County Police Headquarters, told LRT TV.
“A large number of officers searched specifically for the defendant, and he was found on Debesijos Street in Vilnius at around 21:15. He did not resist, was detained and taken to a police detention facility, where he remains,” Samorokovskaja added.
The man is accused of stealing more than €1,700 from a shop. He admits his guilt.
Giedrius Janonis, a spokesman for Vilnius District Court, confirmed to BNS that the fugitive was the defendant and that he had escaped after being escorted out of the building.
“The case was heard under the expedited procedure for examining evidence, and the hearing has concluded. [...] The defendant delivered his final statement, and the verdict is due to be announced on October 26,” Janonis said.
“The hearing had ended, and the defendant was being escorted to a car by the escort officers. They had already left the court premises,” he said.
Janonis noted that the court was co-operating with police officers and had provided them with the video recordings they had requested.
According to Interior Ministry Martynas Katerlynas, the man came to Lithuania from Morocco to study, but was expelled in June and thus lost his residence permit.
The minister welcomed the man's arrest but criticised the officers over his escape.
According to the Lithuanian Prison Service, the defendant had been held in pre-trial detention at Vilnius Prison since August 3.
He said it was therefore important not only to establish who should be held accountable, but also to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“The information I have is very preliminary, and I would not want to make any assessments based on it. But the principle I would follow is that we certainly should not look for a scapegoat among ordinary officers carrying out their duties,” Katelynas told reporters on Wednesday.
“It is clear that something is not working. We will establish what it is, and, most importantly, it is not just about finding out who is responsible, but also correcting the mistakes so that they do not happen again,” he said.
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