Terrorism suspect free on bail

VILNIUS — Terrorism suspect Eglė Kusaitė walked free from the Vilnius Court of Appeals on Thursday after a judge ruled that she was not at risk of fleeing the country.

Judge Viktoras Kazys overturned a previous ruling, which held Kusaitė in detention for another two months. Her trial date has not been set yet.

Kazys said there was no reason to believe that Kusaitė would disappear, commit another crime or escape into secrecy. The fact that she does hold conversations with foreigners was not enough to detain her, he said.

It is also believed that Kusaitė, 21, had changed her ways and was abandoning any terrorist thoughts. She now lives with her mother again, whose illness was cited by Kusaitė’s attorney as a reason to let her off on bail.

Kusaitė said she felt “fabulous” and vowed to live to the letter of the law with her mother.

Prosecutors said they disagree with decision and think they she should still be under house arrest. They will continue to monitor the suspect, who is believed to have attempted to help organize a terrorist act.

Fascinated by Chechnya struggle

Kusaitė was arrested with her Lithuanian passport that had a Russian visa inside and a ticket to Moscow. In her bag were documents on how to make explosives and information on the workings of the underground transport network in the Russian capital.

It is alleged by prosecutor Justas Laucius that Kusaitė had links to Chechen terrorist groups from who she received training in bomb making and funding to help her in that pursuit. She is also said to have links to other terrorist groups in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and England.

The Baltic News Service reported that the accused had been married to a young Chechen man under Islamic law, but he left her to return home to fight in the resistance and was killed in fighting.

Her mother, a Lithuanian language teacher, reported to police that she had gone missing in 2007. Previous to this, her mother noticed a fascination with Chechen people and their struggle. She would spend days on the Internet conversing with Chechen men and women.

A Europe-wide search found her living with a Chechen family living in Germany. She was found also to have lived with a Chechen couple who let her live in a room without windows and furniture except for a dirty mattress where she would spend entire days.

Her fascination with Islam grew until she returned home, allegedly telling her mother that she preferred Chechens to Lithuanians according to unofficial sources.

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