Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania The signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania were the twenty Lithuanian men who signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania on February 16, 1918. The signatories were elected to the Council of Lithuania by the Vilnius Conference in September 1917 and entrusted with the mission of establishing an independent Lithuanian state. The proclaimed independence was established only in late 1918, after Germany lost World War I and its troops retreated from Lithuanian territory. What followed was a long process of building the state, determining its borders, and gaining international diplomatic
Capital punishment in Lithuania Capital punishment in Lithuania Capital punishment in Lithuania was ruled unconstitutional and abolished for all crimes in December 1998. Lithuania is a member of the European Union and the Council of Europe and has signed and ratified Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights on complete abolition of death penalty. From March 1990 to December 1998, Lithuania executed seven men. The last execution in the country occurred in July 1995, when Lithuanian mafia boss Boris Dekanidze was put to death. In the Lithuanian SSR, the criminal code provided for death penalty in 16 articles. After the declaration of