Arrest warrant issued for a Lithuanian ‘Mantas Gervetauskas’ in Scotland

By: Elina S.

The Scottish news portal “The P&J” announced that an arrest warrant has been issued for a Lithuanian who strangled with a stripper in Aberdeen in 2019. After the crime, the 36-year-old man fled to Lithuania.

The arrest warrant was issued because the accused Mantas Gervetauskas, who fled to his homeland after the horrific attack on the woman, still does not appear in the courtroom.

At the previous court session, the Lithuanian, without participating himself, pleaded guilty through his lawyer for assaulting the woman, injuring her and endangering her life. The trial in absentia was aimed at having the accused get a smaller, only monetary punishment.

But Sheriff Morag McLaughlin, presiding over the trial, disagreed and said the brutal attack was serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence. Therefore, the trial was extended in the hope of finding the accused.

In addition, M. Gervetauskas was also accused of sexual abuse – it is said that he touched the victim’s breast and tried to kiss her several times under duress. However, this charge was dismissed.

The defendant’s lawyer, Liam Mcallister, has said in previous hearings that M. Gervetauskas, who lived in Inverurie, Scotland, with his wife and two children, struggled with alcohol addiction for a long time before the crime, but after he was released on bail and returned to his hometown, he radically changed his life.

According to the lawyer, M. Gervetauskas completely gave up alcohol, joined Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and started addiction treatment courses. He also founded a new business in his homeland.

It is the new business, according to L. Mcallister, that is one of the reasons why M. Gervetauskas cannot return to Scotland. Another obstacle to his arrival, according to the lawyer, is that the accused belongs to the reserve of the Lithuanian army, and it would be irresponsible of him to leave Lithuania when the war in Ukraine starts.

However, this did not convince the court, so an arrest warrant was presented to the Lithuanian.