A Lithuanian court on Thursday convicted the leader of one of the parties in the country’s coalition Government for making antisemitic comments and fined him 5,000 euros (about $5,800). The district court in the capital, Vilnius, found that Remigijus Žemaitaitis incited hatred against Jews, grossly downplayed Nazi Germany’s crimes and grossly minimized the Holocaust in an offensive and insulting manner. The punishment fell short of prosecutors’ call for him to be fined 51,000 euros (around $60,000) and ordered to pay into a fund for victims of crimes. The case relates to social media posts and public statements from May and June 2023 in which, among other things, he wrote: “Apparently, for our journalists and local Lithuanian Jews, the demolition of schools in Palestine is yet another pastime?!”
