Lithuanian court sentences Manovas to 8.5 yrs in prison for spying for Russia

VILNIUS - The Siauliai Regional Court has sentenced Eduard Manovas, 83, to eight and a half years in prison for spying for Russia, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday.

The sentence is slightly shorter than the nine years in prison requested by the prosecutor in early March.

Vytautas Joncas, the Siauliai court's spokesman, said the milder sentence was due to Manovas' age and other circumstances.

"The court took into account the defendant's old age, as well as the fact that he had no prior convictions or administrative penalties," he said.

The ruling can be appealed within 20 days of being announced.

The defendant was not present at the reading of the verdict. Previously, he had requested not to be brought to court due to health reasons.

Manovas was accused of carrying out tasks for Russia's GRU. According to the charges, between 2018 and 2024, he acted as part of an organized group alongside unidentified Russian intelligence officers, collecting information of interest to Russia and passing it on to the military intelligence agency in exchange for payment.

Manovas' defense lawyer asked for his acquittal, arguing there was no evidence that the defendant transferred the information to a foreign state's special services, and urged the court to consider that he had partially confessed.

According to Joncas, the defendant’s claim that he had sent the information to "Ukrainian friends" allegedly infiltrated into Russian intelligence was seen by the court as an attempt to mitigate his situation.

"The court viewed this as an attempt by the defendant to improve his position and secure a lighter sentence," the spokesman said.

Manovas, who holds both Lithuanian and Russian passports, was arrested in January 2024 and espionage equipment was found in his possession. He remains in custody, with the measure of restraint in effect until the end of this week.

Remigijus Bridikis, deputy director of the State Security Department, said in December that Manovas had gathered sensitive but not classified information regarding political parties, deportees' activities, Lithuania's defense, domestic and foreign policy, military exercise preparations, defense capabilities, critical infrastructure, and public opinion.

According to intelligence, Manovas was an "illegal" GRU agent who used his real identity but concealed parts of his background.

In 2011, Manovas ran as a candidate for the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (HU-LCD) for a seat on the Siauliai City Council and was a member of the Siauliai branch of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees.

After prosecutors informed the public about the charges, the HU-LCD's Siauliai branch expelled Manovas from the party last December.