Tokens: 31
.
We
also
note
that
the
applicant
was
not
prosecuted
for
his
acts
under
the
RSFSR
Criminal
Code
,
which
was
imposed
in
Lithuania
immediately
after
its
annexation
and
incorporation
into
the
USSR
,
nor
under
the
Criminal
Code
of
the
LSSR
,
both
of
which
provided
criminal
liability
for
deprivation
of
life
(
see
paragraphs
71
-
72
of
the
present
judgment
)
.
The
Government
’s
argument
that
extermination
of
the
Lithuanian
partisans
as
a
group
was
part
of
the
USSR
’s
State
policy
and
practice
,
which
was
superimposed
on
the
rules
of
written
law
at
the
material
time
,
is
not
without
weight
(
see
Streletz
,
Kessler
and
Krenz
v.
Germany
[
GC
]
,
nos
.
34044/96
and
2
others
,
§
§
67
-
68
,
ECHR
2001‑II
)
.
Even
so
,
the
applicant
can
not
rely
on
the
fact
that
this
was
the
USSR
’s
practice
in
order
to
justify
his
participation
in
the
extermination
of
the
Lithuanian
partisans
.
According
to
the
general
principles
of
law
,
it
is
not
open
to
defendants
to
justify
the
conduct
which
has
given
rise
to
their
conviction
simply
by
showing
that
such
conduct
did
in
fact
take
place
and
therefore
formed
part
of
an
accepted
practice
(
ibid
.
,
§
74
)
.
As
the
Court
has
held
,
even
a
private
soldier
can
not
show
total
,
blind
obedience
to
orders
which
flagrantly
infringed
not
only
domestic
law
(
see
paragraph
71
of
the
present
judgment
)
but
also
internationally
recognised
human
rights
,
in
particular
the
right
to
life
,
which
is
the
supreme
value
in
the
hierarchy
of
human
rights
(
see
K.-H.W.
v.
Germany
,
cited
above
,
§
75
)
.
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