LITHUANIA:

OVERCROWDING IN PRISONS, LONG PRE-TRIAL DETENTION PERIODS

AND POLICE ABUSE

The Lithuanian Human Rights Association (LHRA) monitors conditions in prisons and other detention facilities on a regular basis. The LHRA reported in June that, due to great overcrowding in Lithuanian prisons, inmates have to sleep in three-storied bunks. Overcrowding also makes it impossible to accommodate prisoners separately according to their conduct, habits, mental disorders, etc. This fact has also given rise to the emergence of the so-called castes and other informal structures among inmates.

Overcrowding in pre-trial detention facilities can be attributed primarily to the failure to pronounce the exact maximum length of a person’s pre-trial detention. As a result, individuals can be held in detention for an unlimited period under worse conditions than convicted prisoners. Also, prolonged court proceedings contributed to overcrowding: Court rulings for two detainees have been pending since 1991, one since 1995, six since 1996, forty-two since 1997, and seventy-nine since 1998. In addition to the fact that such long periods violate detainees’ rights, it should also be noted that holding individuals for extended periods in police custody costs the state money (54 Lts or U.S.$14 per prisoner per day) that could be better spent on improving conditions in prisons and detention facilities.

In addition, the strict sentencing policy fills up the prisons: Individuals ended up in pre-trial detention even for minor crimes such as stealing a bottle of beer, a packet of coffee, or a loaf of bread.

The conditions in police detention facilities are even worse than in prisons. Due to serious budget shortcomings, only eight out of 48 police detention facilities have been properly furnished. Approximately 50,000 detainees are held in police stations per year, i.e., an average of 900 individuals per day. Most are serving administrative arrest sentences: as of June, the number had reached 7,000. The maintenance of one detainee in the police station costs 54 litas ($14). The greatest number of detainees are held in Kaunas and in Klaipeda – over 5,000 in each. In Villnius, 4,000 individuals were held in police facilities, and 2,000 were held in Silute and Siauliai.

Complaints of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials are abundant. No law guarantees medical care for individuals held at police stations, a fact which hinders the investigation of alleged cases of police abuse. In cases in which bodily injury was proved to have been inflicted during police custody, the injury is usually attributed to calming down an aggressive detainee or the employment of other legal special measures. The LHRA noted that the higher the professional qualifications possessed by an officer, the fewer the number of complaints. Due to the current staffing policy within the Ministry of the Interior, and as a result of unfavorable amendments to the law on pensions, professionals aged 45 might have to retire and be replaced by officers with only theoretical knowledge of the job. The LHRA said that this development might weaken the police system and crime prevention. On the positive side, the Ministry of the Interior has approved an order of unpaid community work.

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Source: Lithuanian Human Rights Association (LHRA)

For more information please contact the LHR, tel. +370-2-429 049, e-mail kausinis@takas.lt