The Varna court in Bulgaria has agreed to extradite Henrikas Daktaras, the so-called kingpin of the Kaunas criminal underworld, back to Lithuania, reports news agency ELTA. According to Algimantas Kliunka, prosecutor of organized crime at the Prosecutor General's Office, Daktaras can appeal the court's ruling within five days. He has been tried five times and, at 19 was put behind bars for the first time. One of the most famous criminal groups in Lithuania - Daktarai of Kaunas - was formed in 1978. Investigators have been investigating serious crimes such as murder, robbery and extortion committed by the group, not only in Kaunas, but in other regions around the country, from 1989-2005. The main members of the Daktarai gang have already been detained or arrested. Daktaras was detained in Bulgaria last week.
The film Duburys, directed by Gytis Luksas, which appeared in Lithuanian theaters starting last week, will compete for an Oscar in the category of best foreign language film at the U.S. 82nd Annual Academy Awards, reports news agency ELTA. The film, which is based on the novel Duburys, by Romualdas Granauskas, winner of the Lithuanian National Cultural and Art Prize, was chosen by a special selection committee formed by seven prominent Lithuanian cinema figures and headed by director Audrius Stonys, on September 11. Duburys is the "first telling of the story about the way the Soviet times affected a human's soul and body," noted Stonys, and expressed his joy over Luksas' return to cinema after a long period of silence, with his remarkable new film.
