Robertas Povilaitis, whose father died during the attack, plans to file a civil lawsuit in a Lithuanian court in fall.
The January 13 criminal case, which had already led to the sentencing of 67 individuals, had failed to assess the role and liability of Gorbachev as the Soviet president and commander-in-chief, according to Povilaitis.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania has refused to raise the issue of Gorbachev’s liability in criminal proceedings, therefore, being a citizen, I want to raise the issue of Gorbachev’s liability for the January 13 crackdown in civil proceedings and file a civil lawsuit against him,” Povilaitis said.
“Lower-ranked officers have all been prosecuted but the commander-in-chief has avoided any charges, it looks like some kind of a misunderstanding,” he said.