Lithuania's CIA prisons probe: summary

A parliamentary panel headed by MP Arvydas Anusauskas on Tuesday released the report of its investigation into secret CIA prisons that are alleged to have operated in Lithuania in the middle of this decade.

The report found that the Department of State Security, the VSD, helped to create the "conditions" for the detention facilities to be built in Lithuania.

Anusauskas told journalists after the release of the report that the detention facilities existed but that the panel was unable to determine if any al-Qaeda suspects were actually brought to Lithuania.

Below is a summary of the panel's findings:

*Two high-security detention facilities were built in Lithuania.

*One building, named ‘Project No. 1' by the commision, was built in 2002, and was designed for detaining a single suspect. According to witnesses, it was never used.

*The second building, ‘Project No. 2’ in Antaviliai just outside of Vilnius, was built in 2004. The commission was unable to determine if any detainees were brought there.

*VSD officers were suspended from visiting some of the rooms at certain times, when the "partners” – foreign officers – were using the facility in Antaviliai.

*Financial records of ‘Project No. 1’ are disorderly and need a more detailed investigation.

*Several airplanes linked to the CIA landed in Vilnius and Palanga airports in 2002-2005, and border procedures were bypassed with the help of high-ranking VSD officials, including deputy director Dainius Dabasinskas.

*At least two CIA-linked airplanes landed in Vilnius, one in 2003, another on October 6, 2005.

*On October 6, 2005 in Vilnius, a state border guard approached a CIA-linked plane for a regular check but was prevented from carrying out the check by aviation security officials. The guard observed a car drive away from the airplane and leave the confines of the airport.

*Three more planes landed at Palanga Airport – in January and February of 2005 and on March 25 of 2006. The latter was not checked by customs officials, and state border guards have no record of this plane.

*There were five passengers on a plane that landed in Palanga on February 18 2005, data from State Border Guard Service showed. Dabasinskas failed to mention this fact to the commission. A detailed customs check was not performed, and no cargo was loaded or discharged from the aircraft.

*The identities of passengers and the content of the cargoes could not be determined, as there are no records in customs documents.

*Prime ministers or presidents of Lithuania were not been informed properly on the issue; the only people to have been well aware of ongoing secret missions were several high-ranking VSD officials, including Dainius Dabasinskas, Mecys Laurinkus, and Arvydas Pocius. Dabasinskas told the commission that the highest-ranking state officials gave their blessing to the first facility.

*The commission suggested the Office of the Prosecutor General investigate the actions of three former VSD senior officers (D. Dabasinskas, A. Pocius, M. Laurinkus) who may have exceeded their legal authority.