Prisoners' rights violated during Lukiskes prison eviction – Lithuanian partl ombudsman

VILNIUS – The human rights of prisoners were violated during their transfer from Lukiskes Remand Prison, the latest report by the ombudsman of the Lithuanian Seimas concludes.

It states that "most of them were informed about the transfer less than one day before the start of the transfer procedure. There have even been cases when prisoners were not informed about the transfer at all and had only one hour to prepare".

The report also draws the attention to the fact that the place of residence of the convicted persons or their relatives was not taken into account, potentially hindering possibilities for prisoners to keep in touch with their families.

The report also highlights that the prisons which received the transferred convicts were not prepared to provide them with the opportunity to continue their education or work.

In his report, the Seimas ombudsman also noted that convicts were often not provided with an adequate minimum of furniture, as there were cases where not all persons in the cell had enough seats. Moreover, convicts are forced to wash their personal clothes in buckets with cold water and dry them in the same cells that also lack proper lighting.

The Seimas ombudsman also made recommendations to the Prison Department, obliging it to take measures to ensure that prisoners have adequate conditions of detention, hygiene, material and domestic supplies. He also recommended that all transferred convicts be provided with the opportunity to continue their education and work, in such a way ensuring appropriate social rehabilitation of prisoners.

The last inmates from Lukiskes Remand Prison in central Vilnius were moved in late June. All in all, almost 600 prisoners were transferred to other correctional facilities from this prison since January.