[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6218 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6218
For the relief of Judge Neringa Venckiene, who the Government of
Lithuania seeks on charges related to her pursuit of justice against
Lithuanian public officials accused of sexually molesting her young
niece.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2018
Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
For the relief of Judge Neringa Venckiene, who the Government of
Lithuania seeks on charges related to her pursuit of justice against
Lithuanian public officials accused of sexually molesting her young
niece.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Give Judge Venckiene Her Day in
Court Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(1) Judge Neringa Venckiene fled to the United States in 2013 and
requested political asylum after a 5-year battle in Lithuania to secure
justice for her 4-year-old niece, Deimante Kedyte, who reported that
she was being sexually molested by Lithuanian government officials
while in her mother's care.
(2) Deimante Kedyte's claims of sexual molestation were evaluated
by court-ordered psychologists and psychiatrists and deemed to be
credible.
(3) Deimante Kedyte accused of sexual molestation an assistant to
the Speaker of the Parliament and a sitting judge, both associates of
her mother.
(4) Judge Venckiene and Deimante Kedyte's father petitioned law
enforcement and the courts for full investigation of Deimante's claims
against the accused individuals, but believed the ensuing investigation
to be negligent.
(5) Lithuania's parliament (Legal and Judiciary Committees) issued
a report in 2010 that deemed the investigation into Deimante Kedyte's
sexual molestation accusations to be negligent and found that the
negligence had compromised the case against the public officials.
(6) After Deimante Kedyte's father went missing in 2009, Judge
Venckiene was awarded guardianship of Deimante.
(7) Deimante Kedyte's mother was never indicted for complicity in
the sexual molestation despite a Vilnius District Court Ruling in
October 2009 that there was enough evidence to indict her.
(8) In December 2011, Judge Venckiene was ordered to give Deimante
Kedyte, then 7 years old, back to her mother, but Deimante refused to
return to her mother, indicating fear of sexual molestation.
(9) Hundreds of Lithuanians kept vigil outside Judge Venckiene's
house to prevent the Lithuanian Government from removing Deimante
Kedyte.
(10) In May 2012, the Lithuanian Government sent more than 200
police officers to take Deimante Kedyte from Judge Venckiene by force.
(11) Deimante Kedyte clung to Judge Venckiene, was ripped from her,
was carried away shrieking, and has completely disappeared from public
view for the last 6 years.
(12) The Lithuanian Government's action resulted in protests
against the Lithuanian Government in Lithuania and at numerous
Lithuanian embassies around the world, as well as in the United States
when the Lithuanian President attended the NATO summit in Chicago in
May 2012.
(13) Judge Venckiene published a book entitled ``Way of Courage''
in 2012 about Deimante Kedyte's ordeal and Lithuania's failure to
properly investigate and prosecute the case against the government
officials.
(14) ``Way of Courage'' became the name of a new, anti-corruption,
anti-pedophilia political party in Lithuania, which elected Judge
Venckiene to Lithuania's parliament in 2012.
(15) Judge Venckiene sought political asylum in the United States
in 2013 after she received threats and experienced what she believed
was an attempt on her life following a political rally, and after the
Lithuanian Government moved to lift Judge Venckiene's parliamentary
immunity.
(16) The Lithuanian Government has systematically prosecuted for
``false statements'' and other crimes the journalists, a medical
professional, Deimante Kedyte's grandparents, Judge Venckiene's
neighbor, people who attended rallies on her behalf, and many others
who came forward with evidence or support of Deimante Kedyte's claims
of sexual molestation or who opposed the violent removal of Deimante
from Judge Venckiene.
(17) Lithuania has leveled more than 35 charges against Judge
Venckiene, including charges for filing petitions on behalf of Deimante
Kedyte with Lithuania's courts and the Child's Rights Ombudsman, making
statements critical of the investigation to journalists, describing in
her book the sexual molestation case against and naming the public
officials, involvement in ``unauthorized protests'', ``humiliating the
court'', desecrating the national anthem, conducting her own
investigation into the case, failing to turn Deimante over to the
accused mother, bruising an officer, and kicking at Deimante's mother
when the mother tried to remove Deimante.
(18) The extradition treaty signed by the United States and the
Republic of Lithuania on October 23, 2001, does not permit for Judge
Venckiene to offer counter-evidence in United States court to any of
Lithuania's charges against her or to make the case for political
motivation.
(19) A United States Magistrate Judge in April 2018 approved
extradition for charges that Judge Venckiene hindered the activities of
a bailiff, failed to comply with a court's decision not associated with
a penalty, caused physical pain, and resisted against a civil servant
or a person performing the functions of public administration--all
charges related to Deimante Kedyte being taken from Judge Venckiene's
home and returned to the accused mother.
(20) Former political prisoners, as well as current and former
government officials in Lithuania have written to the United States
Government, warning that the Lithuanian Government's charges against
Judge Venckiene are politically motivated.
(21) The Chairman of the Supreme Court of Lithuania Gintaras
Kryzevicius has been reported as publicly saying that Judge Venckiene
``is an abscess in the legal system and an abscess in the political
system'' and ``the trouble of the whole state''.
(22) Sweden, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Malta, Ukraine,
and Russia have all refused to extradite individuals to Lithuania.
(23) Judge Venckiene can present evidence concerning the political
motivation of Lithuania's charges against her before an immigration
judge if she is excluded from the extradition treaty and allowed to
proceed with her political asylum case, filed in 2013 and scheduled to
be heard in July 2019.
SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FROM EXTRADITION TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA AND THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Judge
Neringa Venckiene shall be excluded from extradition under the
Extradition Treaty Between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, signed at
Vilnius on October 23, 2001, and entered into force on March 31, 2003
(as amended by the Protocol on the Application of the Agreement on
Extradition between the United States of America and the European Union
to the Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States
of America and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, signed at
Brussels on June 15, 2005, and entered into force on February 1, 2010),
and excluded from all other laws allowing for her extradition to
Lithuania.
(b) Political Asylum.--Judge Neringa Venckiene shall be permitted
to remain in the United States until a final order is issued with
respect to her pending application for asylum.
(c) Free Movement.--Judge Neringa Venckiene shall not be held in
Federal or State prison or detention for any immigration-related or
extradition-related offense and shall be allowed free movement and
continued work permission until a final order is issued with respect to
her pending application for asylum.
<all>