Lithuania Supreme Court makes binding decision in favour of Baltic Pride
The Supreme Administrative Court in Lithuania has once again ruled that Baltic Pride can take place this weekend.
Municipal authorities in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, previously declared the event, planned for Saturday 27 July, could not be held in the city centre and failed to provide an alternative route for the parade.
However, the court first reversed the ban at the start of July, and again did so today; Tuesday’s decision to allow Baltic Pride is final and cannot be appealed.
Evelyne Paradis, executive director of LGBT campaign group ILGA-Europe, said: “We warmly welcome today’s ruling, which is not only just but the only possible verdict in any country committed to human rights.
“We regret that the Mayor of Vilnius has continuously denied permission for this event to take place on the main city’s avenue and that he chose to challenge all court judgments issued in favour of the organisers of the Baltic Pride.
“Once again we applaud the Lithuanian justice system, Lithuanian and all Baltic activists for this important human rights victory.”
The first Pride parade in Lithuania took place in Vilnius in 2010 – although attempts were made by opponents to ban it with anti-LGBT legislation.
In May, the Lithuanian Parliament approved at first reading an amendment to the Code of Administrative Violations to impose fines for the “public denigration of constitutional moral values and of constitutional fundamentals of family life, as well as the organisation of public events contravening public morality”.
