Man Sets Priest Alight in Lithuanian Church

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An assailant sprayed a Roman Catholic priest with flammable liquid and set him alight during mass in a church in Lithuania, police in the Baltic state said Friday.
Father Remigijus Kuprys, 46, managed to extinguish the flames with the help of worshippers, but suffered facial burns.

The attack occurred during the service on Thursday in the central Lithuanian town of Jonava, when a 42-year-old local resident sprayed Kuprys with the flammable liquid and set it ablaze with a cigarette lighter.

The motives of the assailant, identified by police only by his initials J.D., were unknown.

"We have reports that he had repeatedly disrupted masses and shouted weird statements. Investigators are deciding on psychiatric tests," officer Mindaugas Juknys told Agence France Presse.

The suspect did not resist arrest when police arrived at the church. If considered mentally fit to stand trial, he risks up to 10 years in jail for the assault.

Police said that the priest had been released from hospital after receiving treatment for his burns.

Lithuanian daily Lietuvos Rytas on Friday published a photograph of Kuprys with his face fully bandaged, with only the eyes and mouth visible.

Around 80 percent of Lithuania's three million residents are Roman Catholic.(AFP)

Beirut, 20 May 11, 13:57


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