By Aistė Valiauskaitė, LRT TV, LRT.lt.

Lithuania’s Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius is facing questions over his doctoral dissertation after a complaint alleging possible plagiarism was submitted to the country’s academic ethics watchdog.

The complaint, which was forwarded to ISM University of Management and Economics, comes after renewed public attention on Sinkevičius’ 2015 doctoral thesis on factors influencing alcohol consumption. The dissertation was not available online for most of the past decade and was uploaded to the electronic library only after questions were raised about its accessibility.

Sinkevičius defended the dissertation while serving as mayor of Jonava and received his doctorate from ISM. He became prime minister years later, bringing renewed scrutiny of his academic work.

“I wrote the dissertation myself and defended it publicly,” Sinkevičius said. “Investigations, if they are launched, will not change the fact that the dissertation was prepared, defended and publicly available. I am completely calm that any review will end favourably and that this issue will be closed.”

The complaint is being considered by ISM, which said it would decide whether to launch an internal review. The Academic Ethics and Procedures Controller’s Office said it had received the complaint and forwarded it to the university.

Read more: LRT.LT