"To my mind, our laws are too lenient for spies. Both sentences and attitudes are too light," Darius Jauniškis, director of the State Security Department (VSD), told LRT Radio on Wednesday.
Lithuania’s Criminal Code stipulates that spies face imprisonment from four to 15 years.
Russia, for example, imposes prison sentences of 15 to 20 years for espionage, according to Jauniškis.
"Given such a tense and heated situation worldwide, in our region, we should seriously consider tougher penalties for spies. This is what the courts have been showing us as well," he said.
The attitude of courts is changing as cases of Algirdas Paleckis and other figures have revealed, with sufficiently harsh punishments handed out, according to the VSD head.
Asked about The New York Times’ article suggesting Russia’s „significant intelligence presence“ in Lithuania, the VSD head rejected the statements as untrue.
"The conclusions are not true. I do not know where these conclusions are drawn from. (...) Lithuanian intelligence is really effective in its operations. Perhaps this comes from the fact that we have had few arrests," Jauniškis stated.
Šiauliai Regional Court on Monday opened a case of Eduardas Manovas, member of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), who is suspected of spying for Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
The man, in his eighties, is a dual Lithuanian and Russian citizen and member of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees. From 2018, he had allegedly been collecting information about political parties, state institutions, and the economic life of the country, according to law enforcement. There is no evidence that he could have gathered and used classified information.
Earlier in January, The New York Times issued an article on Russian intelligence operations, including last year’s incident when DHL planes flew parcels with incendiary devices from Lithuania. It cited senior US officials saying that Lithuania is identified in this context as a country where Russia "retains a significant intelligence presence."