Kriokialaukis (Rayon of Alytus)
On July 13 and 15, 1983, the Pastor of Kriokialaukis, a member of the Catholic Committee for the Defense of Believers' Rights, Father Vaclovas Stakėnas, was interrogated at the Vilnius KGB. Interrogator Pilelis was interested in such questions as: "When did you become acquainted with Father Sigitas Tamkevičius? How many of his sermons have you heard and on what occasions? What sort of problems did Father Sigitas Tamkevičius touch on in his sermons? For what purpose did you join the Committee? Do you still consider the Committee active? Why do you refuse to write a statement saying that you will not participate in Commitee activity?"
When Father Stakėnas refused to resign in writing from the Committee, after a few hours, the interrogator tried to show that the Committee's activity is anti-state and he tried to say that the purpose of the Committee was to serve the Vatican, Radio Liberty and other foreign radio stations.
Pilelis ended the interrogation with the threat, "If you continue this meaningless struggle, we'll see who wins!"
On September 19, 1983, Father Vaclovas Stakėnas was again summoned to the Vilnius KGB. The priest did not go for the interrogation until the 21st, and for this, he was reprimanded. This time, Interrogator Liniauskas was very interested to know if during the Christmas holidays, the subject had not participated in a Christmas party for the children in Kybartai. The interrogator saw in this holiday a "terrible" detail, for which Father Sigitas Tamkevičius could be seriously accused. It seems that while the candy was being distributed, a woman in the gathering asked, "Santa, did you bring us ladies a voucher for a comforter, or a towel?" All this, the interrogator considered as the "activists' grist to the imperialists' mill, and finally said, "We won't stand for it!"
After the interrogation, Father Stakėnas was lectured for three additional hours.
During the trial of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius, the KGB planned to summon all members of the Catholic Committee for the Defense of Believers' Rights.
On December 9, the Pastor of Josvainiai, Father Leonas Kalinauskas, was called in for interrogation.
On December 20, the Pastor of Skaudvilė, Father Vincas Vėlavičius, was presented with a summons to see Prosecutor Baku-čionis in Vilnius. Since Father Vėlavičius' health is quite frail, he refused to go.
On December 20, Father Jonas Kauneckas received a summons to see Commissioner for Religious Affairs Petras Anilionis. The Commissioner treated the priest very cordially, avoiding any sensitive topics.
Kybartai
On September 12, 1983, Miss Ona Šarakauskaitė, worker at the parish church of Kybartai, was ordered to see Interrogator Vidmantas Baumila. During questioning, she was presented with the usual questions regarding the case of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius: "What can you tell us about the person of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius? Did he not libel the Soviet system in his sermons? Who organized the children's Christmas party and distributed gifts? Did the children recite verses in return? What do you know about the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania?, etc.
In the course of the interrogation, an attempt was made to determine whether during August, 1981, Miss Šarakauskaitė and her companion, Bernadeta Mališkaitė, together with a group of young people, vacationed at Šlavantai Lake; whether they were detained by militia officers and taken under custody to the militia station in Lazdijai, and whether the aforesaid incident was correctly described in a petition regarding discrimination agains youth who are religious believers. Both of them confirmed that the incident was described in the petition accurately. Interrogator Baumila was interested in finding out what Miss Šarakauskaitė knew about the late Father Virgilijus Jaugelis, who is interred in the church tower of Kybartai.
The interrogation lasted six hours.
On September 11, during interrogation, Baumila asked the same of Bernadeta Mališkaitė.
Kybartai
On September 15, 1983, the Kybartai Church charwoman, Miss Ona Kavaliauskaitė, was summoned to see Interrogator V. Baumila at the Vilnius KGB. Under interrogation, she was repeatedly asked about articles seized in a raid April 17, 1980. Miss Kavaliauskaitė refused to answer questions regarding the raid, or articles taken in the course of it, arguing that she had already been interrogated on these questions, the interrogation record is in the KGB safe, and she had no additional information.
KGB agent Baumila tried to show that Miss Kavaliauskaitė had taken things which were not hers; that all these articles belonged to Father Sigitas Tamkevičius. Miss Kavaliauskaitė declared that now, as earlier, she could affirm that all the articles found in her room during the raid belonged to her.
During the interrogation, Miss Kavaliauskaitė was presented with five notebooks full of copies of letters written by Nijolė Sa-dūnaitė from camp and from exile. The interrogator wanted to know whether Miss Kavaliauskaitė had not read them. She explained that she was seeing these notebooks for the first time. Miss Kavaliauskaitė was further asked whether she knew Nijolė Sa-dūnaitė and her brother, Jonas Sadūnas. The interrogation lasted seven hours.
Kaunas
At about 8:00 PM on August 29, 1983, a group of militia and civilians burst into an apartment at Jaunosios Gvardijos g. Nr. 1, Bt. 3. Here they found more than thirty of the faithful gathered in prayer. Among them was the Pastor of Skaisgiris, Father Leonardas Jagminas, who had come to visit Miss Zofija Kilaitė, who was ill. The officials introduced themselves as being from the executive committee, the education department and the militia. Asked what they were gathered for, the believers explained that they had come together to pray for a lately deceased resident of the apartment, Miss Veronika Paukštytė.
The newcomers demanded the papers of those in the group. Most of them were pensioners, and mothers of families, who never carry their papers around with them. After lengthy questioning, they took down the names of all participants, and warned them not to gather anymore. Asked about the anniversary of the deceased, the officials hesitated, saying that probably no permission would be given to arrange a memorial service in that apartment.
The next day, the officials returned to check the documents of the apartment's owners.
After that came the interrogations: Summoned were Miss Zita Kinčiūtė, Mis Zita Kupčiūnaitė and others. Father Jagminas was summoned to the rayon to explain himself.
Raseiniai.
On September 16, 1983, Mrs. Genovaitė Butkuvienė was interrogated at Raseiniai KGB Headquarters. A KGB agent who would not give his name first assailed the subject for coming to KGB Headquarters wearing a little cross. Some time later, a chekist ordered Mrs. Butkuvienė to write an explanation telling why she had been in Kaunas the evening of August 29, 1983, where a little group of people had gathered to pray. He demanded that she tell whom of those present she was acquainted with, and whom she had ridden with. They said they had information that there were two "such miscreants" from Raseiniai. Mrs. Butkuvienė was also accused of participating in processions at the church in Viduklė.
Viduklė
On September 16, 1983, Mrs. M. Šaukienė, a resident of Viduklė, was summoned to the KGB in Raseiniai. The chekist was interested in knowing what kind of meeting took place August 29 in Kaunas, in which she had participated. She said that was her personal affair, and asked him to mind his own business, and not to shame himself. When Mrs. Šaukienė stated that she would not answer the questions posed to her, the KGB agent summoned Chief Gardauskas. Chekist Gardauskas ridiculed and calumniated the Pastor of Viduklė, Father Alfonsas Svarinskas and accused Mrs. Šaukienė of "zealously running around" in behalf of the arrested priest. A third chekist, who showed up at the interrogation stated, "In 1947, we hung people like that, and we'll hang you, too!" He spoke like this repeatedly, threatening arrest, imprisonment and exile to Siberia.
Kybartai
On October 11, 1983, the Associate Pastor of the parish of Kybartai, Father Jonas Matulionis, was again summoned to the Vilnius KGB for interrogation. (He had been summoned on September 8, but had not gone.) Interrogator Liniauskas was interested in information touching on the case of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius: Since when had Father Matulionis known him? What had Father Tamkevičius spoken about during his sermons? He asked about the petition regarding discrimination against young people, written in 1982, for Christmas party in Kybartai, activities of the Catholic Committee for the Defense of Believers' Rights, etc.
In the course of the interrogation, KGB agent Liniauskas showed Father Matulionis the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, No. 52, asking how Father Matulionis' petition written to Petras Griškevičius, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania had gotten in, and he accused the subject of insulting Soviet officials in the petition, specifically, Juozas Urbonas, Vice Chairman of the Vilkaviškis Rayon Executive Committee, calling him an imposter.
Father Matulionis explained that this is not in the petition; on
Father Jonas-Kastytis Matulionis, a graduate of the underground seminary and Associate Pastor of the parish in Kybartai, Lithuania, stands by the confessional of Father Tamkevičius in the parish church.
the contrary, it was Executive Committee Vice Chairman Urbonas who, as soon as Father Matulionis came to work in Kybartai, began calling him an imposter: a false priest without orders. Father Matulionis reminded Interrogator Liniauskas that the KGB agents in Vilnius, interrogating an acquaintance of his in August, had asked about him, and losing their temper, vilified him, calling him an anti-Soviet bastard.
When Father Matulionis refused to sign the interrogation report the interrogator, angered stated that people who refused to sign were' sitting in the KGB cellars. When he was asked whether it would be possible to see Father Sigitas Tamkevičius, Interrogator Liniauskas replied, "You'll see him in camp!"
the interrogator, angered, stated that people who refused to sign were sitting in the KGB cellar. When he was asked whether it would be possible to see Father Sigitas Tamkevičius, Interrogator Liniauskas replied, "You'll see him in camp!" The interrogation lasted four hours.
Vilnius
On September 20, 1983, Jonas Sadūnas wrote petitions to the Prosector of the Lithuanian SSR and to the Chief Judge of the LSSR Supreme Court. In them, he described his interrogation which had taken place at the offices of the Vilnius KGB. Interrogator Senior Lieutenant Vidmantas Baumila grilled Jonas Sadūnas as a witness in the case of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius. Sadūnas received no response to the petitions, however, the KGB agents immediately reacted. On October 17, Jonas Sadūnas was signed out of the hospital in Jonava.
On October 20, while Jonas Sadūnas was working at a construction site, a clandestine search was made of Room 24 of the Jonava Special Command Center, where Sadūnas lived. After the search, Jonas Sadūnas was missing copies of the petitions written September 20, 1983, to the Prosecutor of the LSSR, and to the Supreme Court of the LSSR; addresses of friends abroad; a radio receiver and his passport.
Garliava (Rayon of Kaunas)
On November 28, 1983, on a street in Kaunas, the militia stopped Miss Aldona Raizyte, took her to the Militia Department, and from there they took her home, saying that they were going to carry out a search of her apartment.
Since there are three apartments in the building, the searchers brought three search orders, in which it was noted that they would be looking for some leather jackets missing from the store in Garliava. The search was carried out by about ten people. Although the searchers represented themselves as being from the militia, the KGB also took an active part in the search, among them, Matulevičius. The strange thing was that they carefully booked for the leather jackets in notebooks, in the smallest boxes, in books and behind picture frames.
At the time of the search, they discovered in the house Miss Gem-ma-Jadvyga Stanelytė, Miss Elena Šuliauskaitė and Miss Julija Kuodytė, the KGB agents searched their handbags, and also carried out a body search of A. Teresius, who happened by, all but stripping him. In spite of the fact that the owners of two of the apartments, Vincas Biekša and Mrs. Petronė Nausėdienė were not at home, the KGB agents searched their apartments, also.
Siezed during the search were: a typewriter, Aleksandr Sol-shenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, Lietuvos ateitis (Lithuania's Future) Nos. 2 and 5, many notebooks and various printed matter.
After the search, summonses for interrogation on November 29 were written, not only to the residents of the building: Mrs. Alma Mikličienė and Miss Aldona Raižytė, but also to Miss Julija Kuodytė, Gemma-Jadvyga Stanelytė, Miss Elena Šuliauskaitė and A. Teresius.
The next day, with the trial of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius already in progress in Vilnius, those summoned were kept for a long time at militia headquarters, without calling them for interrogation. Some of them had their passes taken away so that they would not escape. Regardless of that, however, Aldona Raižytė and Teresius, after waiting in vain for half a day to be interrogated, left the militia offices and drove off toward Vilnius in a private automobile. At Vieviai, they were stopped by militia, who took over the wheel of their car and returned them to the Miliati Department in Kaunas.
After interrogation, they were presented with summonses to report to agent Matulevičius at the KGB on November 30 for interrogation, to prevent them from leaving for the trial in Vilnius.
Kaunas
Simultaneously, Vytautas Vaičiūnas, who had just returned from labor camp, was being interrogated at KGB Headquarters. The chekist assailed him especially for being in Viduklė November 7, and participating in a reception for him at the apartment of Miss Monika Gavėnaitė. The chekist raged especially because the people of Viduklė had profaned the November 7 holiday by organizing services for Father Alfonsas Svarinskas, and arranging the reception for the returned prisoner.
Kaunas
Just before the trial of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius, former prisoner Mrs. Elena Kryževičienė, a pensioner, was summoned to KGB headquarters for interrogation. The KGB tried to frighten her so that she would have no desire to go to Vilnius where the priest's trial was to take place.
