Lithuania marks 35th anniversary of Medininkai massacre

VILNIUS - Lithuania on Friday marks the 35th anniversary of the Medininkai massacre with ceremonies in the capital and at the border site to honor the victims.

A memorial mass will be held at Vilnius Cathedral in the morning, followed by traditional tribute ceremonies at the Medininkai Memorial and Antakalnis Cemetery. The events will be attended by President Gitanas Nauseda, Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius, as well as other state officials, military representatives and members of the foreign diplomatic corps.

July 31 marks 35 years since the early morning of midsummer 1991, when Soviet OMON special forces from Riga attacked the Medininkai border post on the Lithuania-Belarus frontier.

Seven customs, police and border officials were killed in the assault: Mindaugas Balavakas, Algimantas Juozakas, Juozas Janonis, Algirdas Kazlauskas, Antanas Musteikis, Stanislovas Orlavicius and Ricardas Rabavicius. Customs officer Tomas Sernas was the sole survivor of the attack, despite being seriously wounded.

Former OMON officer Konstantinas Michailov is serving a life sentence for the killings. Three other OMON members have been convicted in absentia by Lithuanian courts.