Vilnius, 23 July 1997 (RFE/RL) - The Lithuanian government says the head of the police force in Lithuania's capital has resigned because of a weekend attack on a French diplomat.
The government press office said Vilnius Chief Commissioner of police Vytautas Leipus resigned because he felt "moral responsibility" for the incident, which left diplomat Patrick Donabedian with a cerebral hemorrhage. Donabedian had to undergo surgery after he was badly beaten and robbed by three youths near his home in Vilnius Sunday evening.
Donabedian is still being held in intensive care and French embassy charge d'affaires, Levret Didier, says doctors have said he cannot be moved to France for at least a week.
Didier said foreign diplomats, increasingly worried by violent incidents, would meet today and then take their concerns to Interior Minister Vidmantas Zhiemelis. The Interior Ministry says it had detained three suspects who confessed to being involved in the attack on Donabedian.
The government press office said Vilnius Chief Commissioner of police Vytautas Leipus resigned because he felt "moral responsibility" for the incident, which left diplomat Patrick Donabedian with a cerebral hemorrhage. Donabedian had to undergo surgery after he was badly beaten and robbed by three youths near his home in Vilnius Sunday evening.
Donabedian is still being held in intensive care and French embassy charge d'affaires, Levret Didier, says doctors have said he cannot be moved to France for at least a week.
Didier said foreign diplomats, increasingly worried by violent incidents, would meet today and then take their concerns to Interior Minister Vidmantas Zhiemelis. The Interior Ministry says it had detained three suspects who confessed to being involved in the attack on Donabedian.