Boris Dekanidze
Encyclopedia
Boris Dekanidze (died 12 July 1995) was the head of the "Vilnius Brigade" organized crime
gang
in Lithuania
. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder
of a journalist and was executed
by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed by Lithuania prior to its abolition of the death penalty in 1998.
Jewish immigrants. He was a stateless person, not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In Vilnius
, he was a leader of the Vilnius Brigade mafia
group.
In 1993, after receiving a number of death threat
s, Vitas Lingys, one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper Respublika
, was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius. Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was carried out by Igor Akhremov.
In a 1994 trial, Dekanidze was convicted of deliberate murder by a three-judge panel. Dakanidze claimed he was innocent, and the evidence against him was primarily the testimony of Akhremov, who claimed to have carryied out the killing on Dekanidze's orders. On 10 November 1994, Dekanidze was sentenced to death and Akhremov was sentenced to life imprisonment
. Lithuanian authorities shut down a nuclear power plant
after a terrorist threat was made against it the day after the convictions were handed down. Dekanidze appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but it ruled in February 1995 that there were no grounds for reviewing the death sentence. His appeal for clemency to President Algirdas Brazauskas
was also refused.
Dekanidze was executed on 12 July 1995 in Vilnius by a single shot to the back of his head. The execution has been criticised at being carried out even as the Lithuanian parliament
was debating abolition of the death penalty.
No one has been executed by Lithuania since Dekanidze's death. Lithuania abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1998 after the Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional.
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of a journalist and was executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed by Lithuania prior to its abolition of the death penalty in 1998.
Biography
Dekanidze was born in Lithuania to GeorgianGeorgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
Jewish immigrants. He was a stateless person, not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, he was a leader of the Vilnius Brigade mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
group.
In 1993, after receiving a number of death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s, Vitas Lingys, one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper Respublika
Respublika (Lithuanian newspaper)
Respublika is a Lithuanian newspaper, published since September 16, 1989. Since January 7, 1991 it has published a Russian language edition ....
, was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius. Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was carried out by Igor Akhremov.
In a 1994 trial, Dekanidze was convicted of deliberate murder by a three-judge panel. Dakanidze claimed he was innocent, and the evidence against him was primarily the testimony of Akhremov, who claimed to have carryied out the killing on Dekanidze's orders. On 10 November 1994, Dekanidze was sentenced to death and Akhremov was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Lithuanian authorities shut down a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
after a terrorist threat was made against it the day after the convictions were handed down. Dekanidze appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but it ruled in February 1995 that there were no grounds for reviewing the death sentence. His appeal for clemency to President Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas was the first President of a newly independent post-Soviet Union Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006....
was also refused.
Dekanidze was executed on 12 July 1995 in Vilnius by a single shot to the back of his head. The execution has been criticised at being carried out even as the Lithuanian parliament
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
was debating abolition of the death penalty.
No one has been executed by Lithuania since Dekanidze's death. Lithuania abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1998 after the Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional.