Human Rights Monitoring Institute

CIA-EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION PROGRAM:WHAT’S NEXT FOR LITHUANIA?
International Conference in Vilnius
March 22, 2010
The Old Campus of Vilnius University, Aula Parva (Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius)

December 11, 2009 Human Rights Monitoring Institute has approached the Office of the Prosecutor General with the request to initiate pretrial investigation regarding a possible execution of the Extraordinary Rendition Program by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Lithuania. However, in the answer received, the Office of the Prosecutor General indicated that a decision will be adopted once the data from the investigation by the Parliamentary Commision will be processed.

Furthermore, even after the conclusions of the Parliamentary Commision were made public on December 22, 2009 and stated that state officials of the Republic of Lithuania have had participated in the illegal program that grossly violated human rights, the Office of the Prosecutor General avoided reacting.

In light of such surprising position HRMI has later distributed a public appeal to the Prosecutor General in which urged him to initiate pretrial investigation into Lithuania’s participation in the Extraordinary Rendition Program by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Institute expressed its concern about the lack of initiative from the Office of the Prosecutor General in investigating the presumed criminal acts committed in the territory of Lithuania while the country had taken part in the Program. 

HRMI emhasized that the office of the Prosecutor General – regardless of action or inaction of other state institutions – has, in fulfillment of its constitutional function, to initiate investigation into alleged criminal acts. Efficient pretrial investigation is particularly important in cases of alleged criminal acts against the State constitutional order and violations of international law regarding prohibited treatment.

Human Rights Monitoring Institute has reminded that in accordance with international legal obligations in the case of the well-founded  presumption that a  violation of  fundamental human rights occurred, competent State institutions of Lithuania have to atted to their  positive duty to conduct an efficient pretrial investigation in order to identify perpertrators, determine personal guilt.

In light of such developments and having received international support HRMI in cooperation with Institute of International and EU Law, Faculty of Law, Vilnius University and European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights decided to organize the International Conference on CIA- Extraordinary Rendition Program: What’s Next for Lithuania? National and international experts interested in the situation in Lithuania will attend.

The conference will take place on 22nd March, 2010, at Aula Parva,, the Old Campus of Vilnius University, (Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius), starting at 9:00 a.m. See the program of the Conference here.