Lithuanian couple faces arrest for kidnapping children, attempt to cross into Belarus

KAUNAS – A Lithuanian couple is facing 90-day suspended arrest for kidnapping their children and attempting to cross the Belarusian border.

Prosecutor Gitana Kaupe told Kaunas District Court on Monday she's proposing arrest suspended for 12 months for Mindaugas Vilcinskas, and arrest for his wife Inga would be suspended for ten months. They would also be subjected to other penal measures.

"And I have asked for punitive measures: to stay at home, to work, to continue working, or to register with the Employment Service and partake in special parenting programs. These are suspension conditions," Kaupe said.

The couple is accused of kidnapping their three minor children, aged five, seven and nine, who had been taken from them by court, and of attempting to illegally cross the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.

The parents pleaded not guilty in court and have maintained this position since the beginning of the proceedings, although they pleaded guilty during the pre-trial investigation.

In July 2023, the parents took their three children from a child welfare center in Kaunas and were later found at the Lithuanian border with Belarus. According to law enforcement authorities, the family was probably about to cross the border into Belarus.