,v #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #aajg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #g1 #bjai,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,for the relief of ,judge ,neringa ,venckiene1 who the ,government of ,lithuania seeks on charges related to her pursuit of justice against ,lithuanian public officials accused of sexually molesting her young niece4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,give ,judge ,venckiene ,her ,day in ,court ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,judge ,neringa ,venckiene fled to the ,united ,states in #bjac and requested political asylum after a #e-year battle in ,lithuania to secure justice for her #d-year-old niece1 ,deimante ,kedyte1 who reported that she was being sexually molested by ,lithuanian government officials while in her mother's care4 7#b7 ,deimante ,kedyte's claims of sexual molestation were evaluated by court-ordered psychologists and psychiatrists and deemed to be credible4 7#c7 ,deimante ,kedyte accused of sexual molestation her mother and #b associates of her mother1 an assistant to the ,speaker of the ,parliament and a sitting judge4 7#d7 ,judge ,venckiene and ,deimante ,kedyte's father petitioned law enforcement and the courts for full investigation of ,deimante's claims against the accused individuals1 but believed the ensuing investigation to be negligent4 7#e7 ,lithuania's parliament 7,legal and ,judiciary ,committees7 issued a report in #bjaj that deemed the investigation into ,deimante ,kedyte's sexual molestation accusations to be negligent and found that the negligence had compromised the case against the public officials4 7#f7 ,the prosecutors in the case were fired because1 according to the court1 their negligence in the investigation and overt coordination with one of the suspects resulted in possible lost evidence and created circumstances for the suspects to avoid criminal liability4 7#g7 ,the ,child's ,rights ,ombudsman was fired4 7#h7 ,the then ,attorney ,general of ,lithaunia1 ,algimantas ,valantinas1 as well as multiple prosecutors1 were forced to resign4 7#i7 ,after ,deimante ,kedyte's father went missing in #bjji1 ,judge ,venckiene was awarded guardianship of ,deimante4 7#aj7 ,deimante ,kedyte's mother was never indicted for complicity in the sexual molestation despite a ,vilnius ,district ,court ,ruling in ,october #bjji that there was enough evidence to indict her4 7#aa7 ,in ,december #bjaa1 ,judge ,venckiene was ordered to give ,deimante ,kedyte1 then #g years old1 back to her mother1 but ,deimante refused to return to her mother1 indicating fear of sexual molestation4 7#ab7 ,hundreds of ,lithuanians kept vigil outside ,judge ,venckiene's house to prevent the ,lithuanian ,government from removing ,deimante ,kedyte4 7#ac7 ,in ,may #bjab1 the ,lithuanian ,government sent more than #bjj police officers to take ,deimante ,kedyte from ,judge ,venckiene by force4 7#ad7 ,deimante ,kedyte clung to ,judge ,venckiene1 was ripped from her1 was carried away shrieking1 and has completely disappeared from public view for the last #fa_/b years4 7#ae7 ,the ,lithuanian ,government's action resulted in protests against the ,lithuanian ,government in ,lithuania and at numerous ,lithuanian embassies around the world1 as well as in the ,united ,states when the ,lithuanian ,president attended the ,,nato summit in ,chicago in ,may #bjab4 7#af7 ,judge ,venckiene published a book entitled ,way of ,courage in #bjab about ,deimante ,kedyte's ordeal and ,lithuania's failure to properly investigate and prosecute the case against the government officials4 7#ag7 ,way of ,courage became the name of a new1 anti-corruption1 anti-pedophilia political party in ,lithuania1 which elected ,judge ,venckiene to ,lithuania's parliament in #bjab4 7#ah7 ,judge ,venckiene sought political asylum in the ,united ,states in #bjac after she received threats and experienced what she believed was an attempt on her life following a political rally1 and after the ,lithuanian ,government moved to lift ,judge ,venckiene's parliamentary immunity4 7#ai7 ,the ,lithuanian ,government has systematically prosecuted for false statements and other crimes the journalists1 a medical professional1 ,deimante ,kedyte's grandparents1 ,judge ,venckiene's neighbor1 other members of her new political party1 people who attended rallies on her behalf1 and many others who came forward with evidence or support of ,deimante ,kedyte's claims of sexual molestation or who opposed the violent removal of ,deimante from ,judge ,venckiene4 7#bj7 ,lithuania has leveled more than #ce charges against ,judge ,venckiene1 including charges for filing petitions on behalf of ,deimante ,kedyte with ,lithuania's courts and the ,child's ,rights ,ombudsman1 making statements critical of the investigation to journalists1 describing in her book the sexual molestation case against and naming the public officials1 involvement in unauthorized protests1 humiliating the court1 desecrating the national anthem1 conducting her own investigation into the case1 failing to turn ,deimante over to the accused mother1 bruising an officer1 and kicking at ,deimante's accused mother when the accused mother tried to remove ,deimante4 7#ba7 ,the extradition treaty signed by the ,united ,states and the ,republic of ,lithuania on ,october #bc1 #bjja1 does not permit for ,judge ,venckiene to offer counter-evidence in ,united ,states court to any of ,lithuania's charges against her or to make the case for ,lithuania's political motivation4 7#bb7 ,a ,united ,states ,magistrate ,judge in ,april #bjah approved extradition for charges that ,judge ,venckiene hindered the activities of a bailiff1 failed to comply with a court's decision not associated with a penalty1 caused physical pain1 and resisted against a civil servant or a person performing the functions of public administration--all charges related to ,deimante ,kedyte violently being taken from ,judge ,venckiene's home and returned to the accused mother4 7#bc7 ,in ,october #bjag1 ,lithuanian prosecutor in the case1 ,d4 ,jakutis1 explained to news outlet ,lietuvos ,rytas that political charges were intentionally removed from the extradition request so that the request would not be rejected by ,united ,states authorities4 ,he also noted that if ,judge ,venckiene is returned to ,lithuania1 new charges related to the old case could be added4 7#bd7 ,former political prisoners1 current and former government officials in ,lithuania1 as well as other prominent members of society in ,lithuania1 have written to the ,united ,states ,government1 warning that the ,lithuanian ,government's charges against ,judge ,venckiene are politically motivated4 7#be7 ,the ,chairman of the ,supreme ,court of ,lithuania ,gintaras ,kryzevicius has been reported as publicly saying that ,judge ,venckiene is an abscess in the legal system and an abscess in the political system and the trouble of the whole state4 7#bf7 ,finland1 ,ireland1 ,northern ,ireland1 ,denmark1 ,israel1 ,germany1 ,austria1 ,malta1 ,ukraine1 and ,russia have all refused to extradite individuals to ,lithuania4 7#bg7 ,judge ,venckiene can present evidence concerning the political motivation of ,lithuania's charges against her before an immigration judge if she is excluded from the extradition treaty and allowed to proceed with her political asylum case1 filed in #bjac and scheduled to be heard in ,july #bjai4 #c4 ,exclusion from extradition treaty between the ,united ,states and the ,republic of ,lithuania2 effect of application for asylum 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 ,judge ,neringa ,venckiene shall be excluded from extradition under the ,extradition ,treaty ,between the ,government of the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,government of the ,republic of ,lithuania1 signed at ,vilnius on ,october #bc1 #bjja1 and entered into force on ,march #ca1 #bjjc 7as amended by the ,protocol on the ,application of the ,agreement on ,extradition between the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,european ,union to the ,extradition ,treaty between the ,government of the ,united ,states of ,america and the ,government of the ,republic of ,lithuania1 signed at ,brussels on ,june #ae1 #bjje1 and entered into force on ,february #a1 #bjaj71 and excluded from all other laws allowing for her extradition to ,lithuania4 7b7 ,political asylum ,judge ,neringa ,venckiene shall be permitted to remain in the ,united ,states until a final order is issued with respect to her pending application for asylum4 7c7 ,free movement ,judge ,neringa ,venckiene shall not be held in ,federal or ,state prison or detention for any immigration-related or extradition-related offense and shall be allowed free movement and continued work permission until a final order is issued with respect to her pending application for asylum4