Thomas Chivas: Lithuanian VSD was first to contact FSB on Magmadovs' and Kusaite's case

The Lithuanian mass media have released documents from the case of Egle Kusaite, who had been allegedly recruited by Apti and Aishat Magmadov, natives of Chechnya living in Russia, for committing a terror acts in Russia. According to the documents, the Lithuanian State Security Service (VSD) was the first to appeal to the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) with a request for cooperation on this case. Arvidas Anushauskas, chairman of the Seym Committee for National Security and Defence (NSDC) argues that he knows nothing about cooperation of the Lithuanian and Russian intelligence services.

The documents include a request to the Director of the VSD of the Republic of Lithuania R. Vaishnoras from the official representative of the Russian FSB Rear-Admiral V. I. Didyk.

"In October 2009, data arrived from you to the Russian FSB that in August-October 2009, the citizen of Lithuania Egle Kusaite, also known under the Muslim name of Aziza, born on April 17, 1989, was recruited by unidentified Russian citizens - certain Apti and Aisha, and by certain Laila, who lives in Azerbaijan, for committing a terror act in Moscow," says a document published on the website "Balsas.lt".

"In the course of the additional operative-investigative operation named 'surveillance' by means of photo and video filming, on October 25, 2009, an attempt was recorded by Apti Magmadov to meet a bus from Kaunas, in which Egle Kusaite was supposed to arrive in Moscow," ran the request.

The document asserts that the following fact has been established: Egle Kusaite's arrival in Moscow was under control of the bandit leader "Mukhannad" acting in the mountains of Northern Caucasus; it was planned that her further meeting and accompaniment would be supported by the Magmadov family members.

"As a result of operative-search actions and on the basis of the data received from you, the Investigatory Department of the FSB of Russia made a decision to institute criminal proceedings against the organizers of preparation of a terror act in Moscow," runs the document found by journalists in Egle Kusaite's case.

According to Thomas Chivas, it turns out that the VSD initiated contacts with the FSB; and not the FSB had addressed Lithuania for assistance, as it was thought earlier. "That is, prior to presentation of the data on Egle Kusaite and the Magmadovs to the Russian FSB by the Lithuanian party, nothing was known in Russia about this case," said Chivas.

"The VSD had a sanctioned access to Egle Kusaite's telephones and e-mails; they had the right even to write SMS-messages on her behalf. The respective sanction is present in the case files. It is possible that at the first they had created 'Osama bin Egle' in Lithuania, and then - with the help of her - they 'created' the Magmadovs. Egle Kusaite was 'designed' by the VSD as a 'trap' or a 'bait'," said the Lithuanian journalist.

The investigation of the actions of the VSD in Kusaite's case and of the links of this agency with the Russian FSB was demanded by three dissidents of the Soviet time, who are currently actively supporting Egle Kusaite. They are: Algirdas Endryukaitis, a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania; Priest Robertas Grigas and Sister Noyile Sadunaite, who sent their official appeals to President Dale Gribauskaite, Parliamentary Speaker Irene Degutene, General Public Prosecutor Darius Valis and Director General of the VSD Gediminas Grin.

The authors of the letter argue that they see traces of engagement in the actions of the VSD and the Prosecutor's Office.

On March 29, at a press conference in Lithuania, Mr Endryukaitis said that Lithuanian officials had on their own initiative informed the FSB that Kusaite had allegedly intended to commit a terror act in Russia. Allegedly, the Lithuanian secret services informed their Russian colleagues also about her accomplices - brother and sister Apti and Aishat Magmadov, about whom the FSB did not know before.

According to the authors of the appeal, the notification arrived to the FSB on October 1, 2009, and the Magmadovs were detained only on January 19, 2010, that is, 87 days after Kusaite's detention, or 111 days after the information on the Magmadovs was delivered.

The authors of the letter also raise the issue of the legality of the sanction issued by the prosecutor Yustas Lautsyus allowing FSB agents to interrogate Kusaite in March 2010.

Egle asserts that during the interrogation she suffered physical and psychological violence. However, on March 29 the Vilnius District Court rejected her application on running a respective investigation. This court ruling was not subject to appealing against.

Representatives of the VSD refused to comment on the information, referring to the still pending verdict to Egle Kusaite.