Harassment and Stalking Offences in Lithuania

Stalking and harassment charges in Lithuania usually concern the crime of unlawful stalking of a person (neteisėtas asmens persekiojimas, in everyday Lithuanian simply persekiojimas), threats (grasinimas) or, where the conduct is sexual, harassment (priekabiavimas). In English people speak of stalking, harassment, persistent unwanted contact or online harassment. This page is mainly for the person accused; someone who is being stalked finds the relevant pages linked below. It is general information, not legal advice. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Harassment/Stalking Offences”.

What counts as stalking in Lithuania

Lithuanian law treats stalking as a crime of its own. It covers repeated, systematic attention that the other person does not want and that has no lawful reason: following, waiting outside a home or workplace, constant calls and messages, contact through friends or colleagues, or watching someone online. A single threat is dealt with as a separate offence, and harassment of a sexual nature has its own rules. Unpleasant behaviour at work that does not reach these offences is mostly a question of employment law.

Who needs this

Typical situations are a break-up that turned into a police report, a dispute with a neighbour, a former colleague or a business partner, or an online conflict. Both foreign residents and people who have since left Lithuania can be named in a report.

How a case runs

A report to the police leads to a pre-trial investigation (ikiteisminis tyrimas) under a prosecutor. The person named is questioned as a suspect (įtariamasis). The evidence is usually the messages, call logs, social media posts and witnesses. While the case is open, the investigators or the court can impose measures such as an order not to contact or approach the other person; where the two lived together, an obligation to live apart is also possible.

What to pay attention to

Every message sent after the report can become part of the file, and contact with the complainant can breach a measure imposed in the case, even when it is meant as an apology or an explanation. Messages written in English or another language are translated for the file, and tone can be lost in translation. A conviction can also affect a residence permit (leidimas laikinai gyventi).

What an English-speaking lawyer does

For the accused, the lawyer explains the suspicion, attends the questioning, reads the whole exchange in context, challenges measures that go too far and represents the person in court. For the person being stalked, a lawyer helps with the report and with taking part in the case as a victim; see legal representation for crime victims and restraining orders. Physical violence is covered under assault charges. More on criminal law in Lithuania.

Questions and answers

Is sending many messages to a former partner a crime?

Not every unwanted message is. The law looks at whether the conduct was systematic, against the other person's will and without a lawful reason. A lawyer reads the whole exchange, not single messages.

Can online harassment count as stalking?

Yes. Contact through social networks, e-mail or messaging apps can be part of stalking, and threats sent online are treated like other threats.

I am the one being followed. Where does a case start?

With a report to the police. The person harmed can then be recognised as a victim (nukentėjusysis), take part in the case with a lawyer and ask for protection measures.

Will the questioning be in English?

Questioning is in Lithuanian, but a person who does not understand it has the right to an interpreter.