Boris Dekanidze: Difference between revisions

Boris Dekanidze
Boris Dekanidze
Born	13 December 1962; Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	12 July 1995 (aged 32); Lukiškės Prison, Vilnius, Lithuania
Cause of death	Execution by shooting
Criminal status	Executed
Motive	The victim was writing about his criminal activities
Conviction(s)	Murder with aggravating circumstances
Criminal penalty	Death
Details
Victims	Vitas Lingys, 33
Date	12 October 1993
Country	Lithuania
Location(s)	Vilnius

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Boris Dekanidze (Georgian: ბორის დეკანიძე; 13 December 1962^[1] – 12 July 1995) was the head of the Vilnius Brigade criminal organization in Lithuania. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder of Lithuanian journalist Vitas Lingys and was executed by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed in Lithuania prior to the abolition of capital punishment in 1998.^[2]

Biography

Dekanidze was born on 13 December 1962 in Vilnius to Georgian Jewish immigrants. He was a stateless person, not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In Vilnius, he was the leader of the Vilnius Brigade criminal organization. The Vilnius Brigade mostly consisted of Lithuanian-born people of various ethnic backgrounds (mostly Soviet Jews, ethnic Russians, ethnic Poles, and Lithuanians), although Boris Dekanidze as well as his brother were Georgian Jews.

In 1993, after receiving a number of death threats, Vitas Lingys, one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper Respublika, was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius.^[3] Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was a contract killing which was carried out by Igor Akhremov.

In 1994, Dekanidze was convicted of deliberate murder by a three-judge panel. Dakanidze claimed he was innocent, as the evidence against him was primarily the testimony of Igor Akhremov (a former hitman for the Vilnius Brigade), who testified to having carried 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.^[4] 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 Lukiškės Prison by a single pistol shot to the back of his head.^[5]

Dekanidze's execution was the last in Lithuania, and capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1998 after the Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled it unconstitutional.

References

^ „Įvykiai, sukrėtę Lietuvą“. Kam buvo naudinga nušauti V.Lingį?, delfi.lt, 2010-06-08.
^ "Lithuania", handsoffcain.info, accessed 2008-08-21.
^ "Lithuanian reporter is slain", The New York Times, 1993-10-13.
^ "Lithuanians Close A Nuclear Reactor After 3 Threats", The New York Times, 1994-11-15.
^ "Lukiskes Prison, a reminder of blood-soaked history, is to shake off the fame with relocation". baltictimes.com. Retrieved 2022-05-21.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Infobox criminal
-'''Boris Dekanidze''' ({{lang-ka|ბორის დეკანიძე}}; 13 December 1962<ref>[http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/ivykiai-sukrete-lietuva-kam-buvo-naudinga-nusauti-vlingi-i-dalis.d?id=33243525 „Įvykiai, sukrėtę Lietuvą“. Kam buvo naudinga nušauti V.Lingį?], delfi.lt, 2010-06-08.</ref> – 12 July 1995) was the head of the ''Vilnius Brigade'' [[Organized crime|criminal organization]] in [[Lithuania]]. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder of Lithuanian journalist Vitas Lingys and was [[Capital punishment|executed]] by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed by Lithuania prior to its abolition of the death penalty in 1998.<ref>[http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=20&nome=lithuania "Lithuania"], handsoffcain.info, accessed 2008-08-21.</ref>
+| name              = Boris Dekanidze
+| birth_date        = 13 December 1962
+| birth_place       = [[Vilnius]], [[Lithuanian SSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
+| death_date        = 12 July 1995 (aged 32)
+| death_place       = [[Lukiškės Prison]], [[Vilnius, Lithuania]]
+| motive            = The victim was writing about his criminal activities
+| conviction        = [[Aggravated murder|Murder with aggravating circumstances]]
+| conviction_penalty = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
+| criminal_status   = [[Executed]]
+| death_cause       = [[Execution by shooting]]
+| victims           = Vitas Lingys, 33
+| date              = 12 October 1993
+| locations         = [[Vilnius]]
+| country           = [[Lithuania]]
+}}
+'''Boris Dekanidze''' ({{lang-ka|ბორის დეკანიძე}}; 13 December 1962<ref>[http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/ivykiai-sukrete-lietuva-kam-buvo-naudinga-nusauti-vlingi-i-dalis.d?id=33243525 „Įvykiai, sukrėtę Lietuvą“. Kam buvo naudinga nušauti V.Lingį?], delfi.lt, 2010-06-08.</ref> – 12 July 1995) was the head of the ''Vilnius Brigade'' [[Organized crime|criminal organization]] in [[Lithuania]]. In 1994, he was convicted of ordering the murder of Lithuanian journalist Vitas Lingys and was [[Capital punishment|executed]] by Lithuania. Dekanidze was the last person executed in Lithuania prior to the abolition of capital punishment in 1998.<ref>[http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idcontinente=20&nome=lithuania "Lithuania"], handsoffcain.info, accessed 2008-08-21.</ref>
 ==Biography==
+Dekanidze was born on 13 December 1962 in [[Vilnius]] to [[History of the Jews in Georgia|Georgian Jewish]] immigrants. He was a [[stateless person]], not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In [[Vilnius]], he was the leader of the ''Vilnius Brigade'' criminal organization. The ''Vilnius Brigade'' mostly consisted of Lithuanian-born people of various ethnic backgrounds (mostly [[Soviet Jew]]s, [[Russians in Lithuania|ethnic Russians]], [[Poles in Lithuania|ethnic Poles]], and [[Lithuanian people|Lithuanians]]), although Boris Dekanidze as well as his brother were Georgian Jews.
+In 1993, after receiving a number of [[death threat]]s, [[Vitas Lingys]], one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper ''[[Respublika (Lithuanian newspaper)|Respublika]]'', was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D61E3DF930A25753C1A965958260&sec=&pagewanted=print "Lithuanian reporter is slain"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 1993-10-13.</ref> Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was a [[contract killing]] which was carried out by [[Igor Akhremov]].
-Dekanidze was born on 13 December 1962 in [[Vilnius]] to [[History of the Jews in Georgia|Georgian Jewish]] immigrants. He was a [[stateless person]], not having been granted citizenship in Lithuania or Georgia. In [[Vilnius]], he was the leader of the ''Vilnius Brigade'' criminal organization. The ''Vilnius Brigade'' mostly consisted of Lithuanian-born people of various ethnic groups (mostly Russians, Poles and Lithuanians), although Boris Dekanidze as well as his brother were Georgian Jews.
+In 1994, Dekanidze was convicted of deliberate murder by a three-judge panel. Dakanidze claimed he was innocent, as the evidence against him was primarily the testimony of Igor Akhremov (a former [[hitman]] for the ''Vilnius Brigade''), who testified to having carried 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.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E0D81431F936A25752C1A962958260 "Lithuanians Close A Nuclear Reactor After 3 Threats"], ''The New York Times'', 1994-11-15.</ref> Dekanidze appealed the decision to the [[Supreme Court of Lithuania|Supreme Court]], but it ruled in February 1995 that there were no grounds for reviewing the death sentence. His appeal for clemency to [[President of Lithuania|President]] [[Algirdas Brazauskas]] was also refused.
-In 1993, after receiving a number of [[death threat]]s, [[Vitas Lingys]], one of the founders and publishers of the newspaper ''[[Respublika (Lithuanian newspaper)|Respublika]]'', was shot at point-blank range near his home in Vilnius.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D61E3DF930A25753C1A965958260&sec=&pagewanted=print "Lithuanian reporter is slain"], ''[[New York Times]]'', 1993-10-13.</ref> Dekanidze was arrested and charged with ordering the murder, which police said was carried out by [[Igor Akhremov]].
+Dekanidze was executed on 12 July 1995 in [[Lukiškės Prison]] by a single pistol shot to the back of his head.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lukiskes Prison, a reminder of blood-soaked history, is to shake off the fame with relocation |url=https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/29072/ |access-date=2022-05-21 |website=[[baltictimes.com]]}}</ref>
-In 1994, 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 Igor Akhremov (fellow member of ''Vilnius Brigade''), who claimed to have carried 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.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E0D81431F936A25752C1A962958260 "Lithuanians Close A Nuclear Reactor After 3 Threats"], ''[[New York Times]]'', 1994-11-15.</ref> Dekanidze appealed the decision to the [[Supreme Court of Lithuania|Supreme Court]], but it ruled in February 1995 that there were no grounds for reviewing the death sentence. His appeal for clemency to [[President of Lithuania|President]] [[Algirdas Brazauskas]] was also refused.
+Dekanidze's execution was the last in Lithuania, and capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1998 after the [[Lithuanian Constitutional Court]] ruled it [[unconstitutional]].
-Dekanidze was executed on 12 July 1995 in Vilnius by a single shot to the back of his head. The execution has been criticized at being carried out even as the [[Seimas|Lithuanian parliament]] was debating abolition of the death penalty.
-Dekanidze's execution was the last act of death penalty in Lithuania and it was finally abolished for all crimes in 1998 after the [[Lithuanian Constitutional Court]] ruled that the death penalty was [[unconstitutional]].
 ==See also==
 *[[List of most recent executions by jurisdiction]]
+*[[Capital punishment in Lithuania]]
 ==References==
+{{Reflist}}
-===Footnotes===
-{{reflist}}
-===Further reading===
+==Further reading==
-*[[Amnesty International]], [http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=91AA18EA6858370F802569A500714D4A "Concerns in Europe: May–December 1994"], press release, 1995-01-01
+*[[Amnesty International]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080831084058/http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=91AA18EA6858370F802569A500714D4A "Concerns in Europe: May–December 1994"], press release, 1995-01-01
-*[[Amnesty International]], [http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=0F90136872A3581C80256A0F005BCCB6&c=LTU "1996 Annual Report for Lithuania"], ''Amnesty International Annual Report 1996'' (New York: Amnesty International)
+*[[Amnesty International]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080831084033/http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport.php?id=0F90136872A3581C80256A0F005BCCB6&c=LTU "1996 Annual Report for Lithuania"], ''Amnesty International Annual Report 1996'' (New York: Amnesty International)
 *Dorinda Elliott, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/112477 "The Godfather Of Vilnius?: Mafia: Lithuania Cracks Down On Organized Crime"], ''[[Newsweek]]'', 1994-12-05
-*Hans Göran Franck, Klas Nyman, and William Schabas (2003). ''The Barbaric Punishment: Abolishing the Death Penalty'' (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, ISBN 90-411-2151-X) pp.&nbsp;107–108
+*Hans Göran Franck, Klas Nyman, and William Schabas (2003). ''The Barbaric Punishment: Abolishing the Death Penalty'' (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, {{ISBN|90-411-2151-X}}) pp.&nbsp;107–108
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dekanidze, Boris}}
@@ Line 30: / Line 48: @@
 [[Category:1995 deaths]]
 [[Category:20th-century executions by Lithuania]]
-[[Category:Crime in Lithuania]]
 [[Category:Executed Lithuanian people]]
-[[Category:Executed mobsters]]
+[[Category:Executed gangsters]]
-[[Category:Executed people from Georgia (country)]]
+[[Category:Crime bosses]]
-[[Category:Jews from Georgia (country)]]
-[[Category:Mob bosses]]
-[[Category:Mobsters from Georgia (country)]]
 [[Category:People convicted of murder by Lithuania]]
 [[Category:People executed by Lithuania by firearm]]
 [[Category:People executed for murder]]
-[[Category:People from Vilnius]]
 [[Category:People extradited from Latvia]]
 [[Category:People extradited to Lithuania]]
+[[Category:People from Vilnius]]
 [[Category:Stateless people]]