Court blocks removal of poet's monument; President criticizes data breach handling

A Vilnius court has ruled against the removal of a monument to the poet Salomėja Nėris, located in the center of the Lithuanian capital. The court's decision overturned a previous resolution by the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center (LGGRTC), which had sought to relocate the monument. The court found that Nėris's participation in Soviet-era institutions was primarily decorative and did not constitute active involvement in decision-making processes that contributed to the consolidation of Soviet occupation or the execution of repressions.

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the poet performed a decorative, not a political function during the occupation of Lithuania.

The court's reasoning emphasized that Nėris's involvement in contemporary Soviet institutions or her creative works supporting the occupation regime were not sufficient evidence of her active participation in political decision-making. This interpretation contrasts with the LGGRTC's stance, led by its director Arūnas Bubnys, who maintains that ample evidence exists to demonstrate Nėris's role in the process of Lithuania's occupation and annexation. The LGGRTC has stated its intention to appeal the court's decision.

Meanwhile, President Gitanas Nausėda has reiterated his criticism of how politicians have communicated information about a significant data breach from the Center of Registers (RC). He stated that the situation was "tried to be swept under the rug" and that the public should have been informed in real-time about the incident. Nausėda highlighted that such a large-scale data leak could be linked to hostile state activities and pose national security challenges, though he declined to elaborate further. He also stressed the urgent need to enhance the cybersecurity of state IT systems, expressing concern over the mass leak of sensitive personal information.

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this situation was 'tried to be swept under the rug'.

The General Prosecutor's Office announced the launch of a pre-trial investigation into the alleged leak of real estate registry data from the RC. It is suspected that over 600,000 registry extracts may have been leaked between January and December, resulting in damages of at least 111,000 euros. The investigation follows public outcry over the delayed notification of the data breach. The Prosecutor's Office clarified that the state enterprise itself was obligated to report the incident, not law enforcement agencies. Following the data leak, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation stated that new two-step authentication measures were being implemented to strengthen the RC's cybersecurity systems.

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there are enough facts that S. Nėris participated in the process of Lithuania's occupation and annexation, there are more than enough of them.