Vilkaviškis
On March 6,1987, a group of KGB, without giving their names, carried out a search at the home of Ona and Jurgis Brilius at No. 30 Vilniaus, in the City of Vilkaviškis. During the search the chekists took three issues of the underground publication Tiesos kelias (The Way of Truth), ten reams of typing paper, carbon paper, etc. The search lasted five hours.
In the course of the search, Father Antanas Liubšys, pastor of the parish of Bartininkai in the Rayon of Vilkaviškis was detained. When he firmly declared that he had to return to his parish in time for evening services, the priest was released after some delay.
After the search, the security agents took Brilius to Vilkaviškis KGB Headquarters for questioning. The chekists expressed annoyance and repeatedly accused Brilius of rearing his children poorly - two sons are priests. They also warned him that his daughter, Birutė Briliūtė, had allegedly been caught writing the Chronicle, and had been arrested.
Brilius stated that he had raised his children in the same way in which he himself lives. He refused to sign the report.
Kybartai (Vilkaviškis Rayon)
On March 6,1987, a search was made at the apartment of Miss Ona Sarakauskaitč, a resident of Kybartai at no. 19, Chepayevo skg. Simultaneously, a search was made of the living quarters of Birutė Briliūtė and Ona Kavaliauskaitė in the same house.
The purpose of the search: "To turn up and seize literature libelous in content and the means by which it is reproduced". In charge of the search was Major Reinys, Chief Investigator of the Vilnius KGB Investigation Division and Vilkaviškis Rayon Assistant Prosecutor Siugzdinytė. Taken from the room during the search where Ona Kavaliauskaitė lived were: an audio cassette containing the sermons preached at the funeral of Father Juozas Zdebskis in Rudamina, sixteen copies of the photograph of Father Alfonsas Svarinskas with the inscription, "For Church and country", five copies of Father Sigitas Tam-kevičius' letter written July 1,1984 and books: Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, Recrūtų atsiminimai (Memoirs of Conscripts), by R.G., Raila's Kitokios Lietuvos ilgesys (Longing for a Different Lithuania) and a letter written by Robertas Grigas.
From Miss Briliūtė, they took: a portable typewriter and two envelopes with handwritten and typed texts as well as a few petitions addressed to government agencies.
The search took seven hours. After the search, Investigator Reinys interrogated Miss Briliūtė and Miss Sarakauskaitė for about two hours more.
Neither Miss Sarakauskaite nor Miss Briliūtė signed the report of the interrogation.
Kybartai
On March 18, 1987, Ona Sarakauskaite, a resident of Kybartai, Chepayevo no. 19, was summoned to see Investigator Stepučinskas. Investigator Stepučinskas questioned Miss Sarakauskaite as a witness in the "Vilkaviškis case", unknown to her, regarding distribution and reproduction of underground literature. During the investigation, a number of questions were posed: Was she acquainted with Dana and Antanas Kelmeliai, Janina and Romas Blazukai residents of Vilkaviškis; did they take part in the funeral of Father Juozas Zdebskis and the anniversary; how many people they saw there; who delivered the sermons and speeches; what they know about articles seized during the search in the room of Ona Kavaliauskaitė? Miss Sarakauskaite did not sign the report of the investigation. That same day, she was fingerprinted and a sample of her handwriting was made.
Kybartai
On March 19,1987, in Vilnius, KGB Agent Reinys interrogated Birutė Briliūtė. Reinys presented the suspect with a whole list of questions regarding the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania and Aušra (Dawn): Did she know who finances the aforesaid underground publications; What their circulations are and how often they come out; How often they get abroad and so forth. Concluding the interrogation, Reinys stated that Miss Briliūtė was being released only temporarily, and would be obliged to meet with him many times. Miss Briliūtė did not sign the record of interrogation.
Kybartai
On March 19,1987, Miss Ona Kavaliauskaitė was also summoned to the offices of the Vilnius KGB to see Investigator Stepučinskas. Investigator Stepučinskas questioned Miss Kavaliauskatė about articles taken from her during the search. He asked where she knew Grigas from, whether she had been at the funeral of Father Juozas Zdebsdkis and at his anniversary memorial in Rudamina. After lunch, Investigator Stepučinskas apprised Miss Kavaliauskaitė of the March 17 KGB decision to fingerprint her and to obtain samples of her handwriting. This procedure took about two hours. Miss Kavaliauskaitė refused to sign the report.
Kaunas
On April 10, 1987, Liudvikas Simutis, residing at Borisos 25-3 in Kaunas, was summoned to the Kaunas KGB. At the Security Headquarters, he was presented with an official warning to acknowledge in writing. Simutis is ac-
cused of drafting and disseminating documents libellous in content: A petition to KGB Investigator Vidzenas regarding the case of Father Alfonsas Svarinskas (1983) and an open letter to the younger priests and seminarians of Lithuania (1984).
Simutis categorically refused to acknowledge the warning in writing, arguing that in both documents, he had written only the truth and only about things well known to him personally; besides, these documents had been disseminated without his assistance or his permission, so the aforesaid accusation did not conform in any way with the U.S.S.R. policy of openness and democratization.
Vilnius
On April 1,1987, a raid was carried out at Antakalnio 62-2 in Vilnius. Directing the raid was Major Reinys. In the apartment, the chekists found Nijolė Sadūnaitė visiting. The KGB, after threatening the apartment owner for daring to have such a state criminal in her home, arrested Nijole Sadūnaitė and took her away to KGB headquarters. On the way, Major Reinys accused her, "In your volumes of memoirs, you actually ridicule us. Now you're going to be put away for a long time, and you won't write any more memoirs."
To this, Nijolė Sadūnaitė, laughing, replied that actually she had written just about everything and had no more to write, but now the KGB was going to provide her material for a third volume of memoirs. At KGB headquarters, Miss Sadūnaite was interrogated by Prosecutor Bakučionis and KGB Agent Liniauskas. She was presented with a whole list of questions regarding the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, her memoirs KGB akiratyje and Penkti metai Gerasis Dievas slepia nuo KGB (Published in English as one volume entitled A Radiance in the Gulag: Trinity Communications - Trans. Note).
Miss Sadūnaite categorically refused to answer questions regarding the case. Prosecutor Bakučionis tried once more to accuse Nijolė Sadūnaitė of being unemployed and not having a permanent residence. Before taking her to the KGB cellars - the isolation cells, Nijolė Sadūnaitė was ordered to sign the arrest papers. The prisoner refused to sign. That same evening, about nine o'clock (drugged, it is suspected, with scopalamine), Miss Sadūnaitė was again summoned for interrogation.
Waiting for her in the office this time were General H. Vaigauskas, Chief of the Investigation Division Baltinas and Prosecutor Bakučionis. Once more, a list of questions followed regarding the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, no. 73, a copy of which Nijolė Sadūnaitė had succeeded in tearing up during the search. To the question why she had torn it up, the suspect explained that after reading the Chronicle, one is supposed to hand it on. She was being arrested and the KGB certainly was not about to disseminate the Chronicle, so she destroyed it.
The chekists told Nijolė Sadūnaitė that some woman had allegedly been arrested and a copy of Chronicle no. 73 had been found in her possession. They tried to play on the sympathies of Miss Sadūnaitė, saying that the woman's fate was in her hands. If she signed the text presented by Prosecutor Bakučionis, the aforesaid woman and she would be released.
In the text, it stated that Nijolė Sadūnaitė had been arrested on suspicion of having committed a crime under Article 199-1 of the Criminal Code, but since the crime had been prevented, she was being released. Dizzy from the narcotics, Miss Sadūnaitė re-read the text several times and then tried to ask why they were releasing her if she was promising the KGB nothing. Finally, as though not with her own hands, she signed in large handwriting, and was released. Vaigauskas expressed the hope that no one would find out about their late-night interview.
Some time later, Miss Sadūnaitė addressed a petition to Prosecutor Novikov, demanding that the articles taken from her during the raid be returned (A prayerbook-psalter, a notebook containing religious thoughts and addresses and some photographs, letters, etc.), or that they would give her some sort of receipt that the articles belonging to her were really with the KGB.
On March 18, Miss Sadūnaitė was summoned to KGB headquarters where Investigator Stepučinskas returned the things belonging to her, retaining only photographs of Father Alfonsas Svarinskas and Father Sigitas Tam-kevičius, alleging that Prosecutor Bakučionis had taken them because on the photographs is the inscription, "For God and Country!"
Vilnius
On April 1,1987, a search was carried out at the apartment of Vilnius resident Miss Bronė Vazgilevičiūtė at Dzerzhinskio 160-2. On April 1, Miss Vaz-gilevičiūtė had stopped by to visit at Antakalnio 62-2, where a raid was already in progress. At the direction of Chekist Reinys, in charge of the raid, a personal search was made of Miss Vazgilevičiūtė, during which the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, no. 73, was found. Without delay, Miss Vazgilevičiūtė was taken to her apartment and a search was made. In the course of it, they took the pamphlet, "Memories of Father Juozas Zdebskis," the poem, "600 Years is Kneeling" and a typescript, "A Response to the Article by V. Balkevičius", etc. After the search, Miss Vazgilevičiūtė was questioned.
On April 4, at KGB Headquarters, Miss Elena Šuiiauskaitė, who had been in Miss Vazgilevičiūtė's apartment, was questioned. The questioning was conducted by Chekist Vidzenas. The security agent was interested in knowing whether Miss Šuliauskaitė was acquainted with Nijolė Sadūnaitė, and he presented her with a list of questions regarding the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.
Miss Šuliauskaitė refused to sign the record of interrogation.
