Audrius Butkevičius (born 24 September 1960 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

) is a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n politician, a signatory of the

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of 11 March () was an Declaration of independence, independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on 11 March 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Se ...

, former minister of defense (1991-93), and member of the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...

(

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

) (1996-2000). He does not belong to any party. In 1988 was one of the organizers of the Lithuanian reform Movement "

Sąjūdis The Sąjūdis (, ), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first oppositi ...

", a member of the Sąjūdis Seimas. He was an establisher and chairman of the " Tremtinio klubas" ("Club of Deportees") of Sąjūdis in Kaunas, the precursor of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees. In the period of 1990-1993 he was in the state of negotiations with the Russian Federation. One notable issue that was raised was the withdrawal of the Russian troops stationed in Lithuania, whereupon Lithuania and Russia signed an agreement that declared that all of the Russian troops stationed on the territory of Lithuania must withdraw by 31 August 1993. The agreement was concluded on schedule. In the late 1990s Butkevičius was convicted and jailed for

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

. On 12 August 1997 he was apprehended by the Lithuanian secret service agents in a hotel lobby while accepting 15,000 US dollars. After a brief explanation, he was permitted to leave. On 14 August criminal proceedings were instituted against him. He was eventually arrested on 28 October, whereupon he was imprisoned and sentenced to five and a half years in jail. He was released on 20 March 2000. Subsequently, he appealed to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

. He stated that his detention was unlawful and that Articles 5 and 6 were breached. The court held the fact that these articles certainly were breached and that Lithuania was ordered to pay Butkevičius compensation. In 2007, he was elected to Vilnius City Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butkevicius, Audrius Living people 1960 births Members of the Seimas Ministers of defence of Lithuania Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving Lithuania Politicians from Vilnius Signatories of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania