Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

"(The court) held that statements by the defendant, Vytautas Bakas, were not corresponding to reality and were damaging to MG Baltic's business reputation," Judge Fausta Vitkiene of the Vilnius City District Court said. 

Although Bakas' statements are considered to be an opinion, the politician had to substantiate his claims, the Vilnius court said in its ruling, which can be appealed to a higher court.

"As is apparent from the case-file, the defendant's opinion clearly lacks factual grounds and was stated in a manner that is not fair, goes beyond the limits of freedom of expression and undermines the presumption of innocence of the plaintiff," it said. 

However, the court did not award MG Baltic 20,000 euros as compensation for non-pecuniary damage, saying the mere recognition of Bakas' statements as not corresponding to reality was adequate satisfaction.

Azuolas Cekanavicius, a lawyer representing MG Baltic, told reporters the business group "are very satisfied with the court's ruling". 

"We regard it as further proof that we live in a truly democratic state that is ruled by law and where everybody must abide by the Constitution and laws," he said. 

Bakas and his lawyer were not present in court on Thursday. 

MG Baltic took Bakas to court over his statements that the business group's activities bore signs of an organized criminal group and that it had caused around 500 million euros in damage to the state.

Bakas, who chairs of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defense, headed a parliamentary investigation that found that MG Baltic's activities posed a threat to Lithuanian national security. The business group called the probe "a political farce".

The group has also sued the State Security Department (VSD) over the intelligence body's report to the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defense (CNSD) for its parliamentary investigation into unlawful influence by MG Baltic and other businesses on politicians. 

MG Baltic is also at the center of a political corruption trial involving Raimondas Kurlianskis, its former vice-president, and several politicians.