Lithuanian court sentences Estonian underworld figure to 10 years for murder

A Lithuanian court sentenced Imre Arakas, a well-known figure in organized crime circles, to ten years in prison on Monday, public broadcaster LRT reported, on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Arakas, an Estonian national, was convicted of the murder of Lithuanian MMA fighter Remigijus Morkevičius, and of the attempted murder of another individual, named as Gija Zabachidze.
Judge Giedrius Endriukaitis said: "The panel of the Criminal Chamber of the Kaunas Regional Court [...] found Arakas guilty and sentenced him to a final combined sentence of ten years in prison."
Arakas, who LRT described as a hitman, had been hired for €75,000 though, according to Prosecutor Zdzislav Tulisevski, who also noted the hitman was following the orders of others, had received €5,000 of this sum.
The court also ordered Arakas to pay over €15,000 to cover Zabachidze's medical expenses, and granted €500,000 in non-pecuniary damages to Morkevičius' former partner and her two sons.
Another former partner of the victim received a similar amount for a third child, LRT reported.
Arakas, who had in recent years been imprisoned in Ireland, expressed remorse and apologized to the victims in the course of the trial, could serve his sentence in Estonia if requested.
According to the charges, in July 2016, Arakas shot Zabachidze with a firearm equipped with a silencer; Zabachidze survived, with injuries.
In December of the same year, Morkevičius was slain, outside his own home, with an automatic firearm.
A pre-trial investigation into those who hired Arakas is ongoing.
The judge noted the verdict can be appealed within a 20-day period.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: LRT