ELTA

Lithuanian member of parliament Audrys Šimas violated the principle of respect for the human being and the state enshrined in the State Code for Behavior by Politicians, according to the Lithuanian parliament’s Ethics and Procedures Commission who investigated Šimas’s apparent use of a sieg heil-style Nazi salute during a vote which offended the Jewish community.

The ethics watchdogs recommended Šimas avoid actions which could be seen as disreputable, offensive or derisive towards different people or groups of people.

The ethics commission voted Wednesday against Šimas with 5 members in favor, one against and two abstaining. Šimas, who participated in the meeting, said it had been a spontaneous action which he himself hadn’t even noticed.

“I raised my hand spontaneously. I have apologized for my action,” he told the ethics commission. He also said he had contributed personal funds to commemorating Holocaust victims in Biržai, Lithuania, and called the uproar over his unintentional action “purely a political game and attack.” Parliamentary Ethics and Procedures Commission member Ona Valiukevičiūtė said she was convinced the parliamentarian had acted innocently and hadn’t intended to offend anyone.

Liberal party commission member Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen said “no shadow should fall upon a parliamentarian.” The commission found MP Šimas had “raised his right hand with two fingers extended” during a meeting of the parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee on May 20, 2020.

“This sort of gesture made in a public space caused speculation on whether MP Šimas intentionally attempted to imitate the method of greeting used during the period of Nazi Germany. Respect and sensitivity to those people who experienced the Holocaust and the feelings of people around him as well as the duty of members of parliament as the representatives of the nation to adhere to higher moral and ethical principles means it is the responsibility of members of parliament to avoid actions which might be perceived as disrespectful and hurtful to people who experienced the Holocaust or other repressions by the Nazi regime, as well as demeaning the reputation of the Parliament as the representative of the nation,” ethics commission member Dovilė Šakalienė quoted from the commission’s verdict.

Full story in Lithuanian here.