CIA had secret terror prison in EU
The CIA set up secret prisons in Lithuania to hold suspects in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a Lithuanian government inquiry said today.
Planes involved in transporting prisoners had entered Lithuanian airspace and landed in Vilnius, the capital, on several occasions in 2002-2005.
Lithuania became a full member of NATO and the European Union in Spring 2004.
The report said the State Security Department, the former Soviet republic’s top security agency, provided two facilities.
One was a small cell set up in 2002 that could only house one person. The other was created in 2004 and was big enough to hold eight suspects.
The report by the country’s National Security Committee was based on evidence from top politicians and national security officials.
It said there was no evidence that the State Security Department had informed the president, prime minister or other political leaders of its cooperation with the CIA. The country’s former leaders have denied any knowledge of the secret prisons.
Planes involved in transporting prisoners had entered Lithuanian airspace and landed in Vilnius, the capital, on several occasions in 2002-2005.
“Those aeroplanes were not checked by border police and customs, (and) persons travelling and cargo were never identified,” Arvydas Anusauskas, chairman of the national security committee, said.
However it found no evidence that any suspects were interrogated in Lithuania.
Although inconclusive, the probe has shaken Lithuania’s leadership. President Dalia Grybauskaite has demanded that the former director of the State Security Department, Mecys Laurinkus, immediately leave his post as ambassador to Georgia.
Povilas Malakauskas resigned as the department’s director last week, citing “personal reasons”.
The report did not give details on the two alleged detention centres – labelled “Project 1” and “Project 2”.
The report urged prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation into the State Security Department’s involvement in the case.
