Lithuania outraged by Austrian Golovatov decision

VILNIUS -- Lithuanian authorities have lashed out at an Austrian court decision not to extradite a former KGB operative accused of taking part in a 1991 massacre.

"The people of Lithuania and relatives of the victims ... are waiting for a convincing explanation from Austria why the decision was taken and why it was taken so hastily," Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said.

Mikhail Golovatov is wanted for his role in the storming of the state television studios on January 13th, 1991, in which 14 people died and more than a thousand were wounded.

Golovatov was freed just 24 hours after his arrest and is now thought to be in Russia.

“The prosecutor-general’s office regretfully regards the actions of the Austrian authorities as a gross violation of EU and international law,” Andrius Nevera, deputy prosecutor-general, told journalists.

Austria claims that Lithuania's  European arrest warrent was too vague.