The bid to approve the amendments to the Criminal Code for discussion was supported by 64 parliamentarians, two were against and 13 abstained. The parliament is to discuss the amendments after recommendations are submitted by parliamentary committees.
Currently, the Criminal Code envisages up to two years in prison for public ripping, destruction, breaking, vandalizing of the official Lithuanian flag or national coat of arms, as well as public mockery of Lithuania's national anthem.
Seven parliamentarians representing different political groups suggest including the historic flag, the president's flag, and historic national symbols into the provision of the code.
"The symbols are among the key factors behind the existence and continuity of the state. Desecration, vandalizing thereof or comparison to symbols of crimes against humanity undermine foundations of the state, insults the nation's history and serves as legitimation of historic injustice," the initiators said in an explanatory note.
In the end of January, a picket rally held outside the Greek Embassy in Vilnius against far-right extremism featured a slogan with the columns of Gediminas crossed out in red. Representatives of leftist organizations who participated in the event said the columns of Gediminas have been appropriated by neo-Nazis.
