HRMI commemorated International Human Rights Day today by announcing awards for institutions and public officials who contributed to setbacks in the name of human rights protection. Top prize went to Deputy Prosecutor General Gintaras Jasaitis for his infamous phrase: "Termination of a criminal prosecution does not mean that the defendant is not guilty".
In announcing the nominations, HRMI Executive Director Henrikas Mickevicius pointed out that the attitude and any further action associated with it violated the presumption of innocence. "The European human rights convention states that a person is innocent until proven guilty in court. Therefore, comments by a high official not only raises doubts about the level of competence of our prosecutors, but moreover undermines peoples trust in the system justice.“
During the event HRMI presented satirical nominations for the most notorious human rights violations of the year. They were assigned to various politicians, law enforcement officers and institutions as well as private persons and enterprises.
The nominations were presented by Human Rights Monitoring Institute in a joint event with Office for Equal Opportunities. The event was supported by UNDP.
See Nominations here (in Lith.)
© 2012 Human Rights Monitoring Institute