ECCHR organizes conference on US secret prisons in Lithuania
European human rights
lawyers got together on 22 March 2010 at a conference entitled „CIA ‚Extraordinary Rendition' Program: What´s next for
Lithuania? " The conference took place at Vilnius University in the country's
capital and involved discussions about the results of the Lithuanian
Parliamentary Inquiry Committee. At the end of 2009, the Committee's report
confirmed suspicions that two US-operated secret prisons had existed on
Lithuanian soil. The participants of the conference attempted to find ways of
initiating juridical steps towards a clarification of the facts and towards
holding certain individuals involved criminally responsible. ECCHR's General
Secretary, Wolfgang Kaleck spoke to the participants about the trials taking
place to date in Europe against CIA agents and other European parties involved.
The conference, which was developed by the Sebastian Cobler Foundation, was composed of an open podium discussion with Lithuanian and international experts and a workshop of experts and NGO representatives. The workshop consisted of exchanging experiences, building networks, and other forms of co-operation such as preparing concrete judicial measures. Participants of the well-attended conference included parliamentarians, law enforcement authorities, and scholars. The conference was moreover reported on by all of the major radio and television channels.
The development in Lithuania leads us to believe that the roles of other European countries involved in the US-led "War on Terrorism" will be uncovered. While the Inquiry Committee came to the conclusion that there were secret prisons in Lithuania, it could not state with certainty that there were indeed prisoners within them. The Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite defended the report nonetheless. Meanwhile, the Irish Times maintained that Lithuania's investigation was exhaustive. The nation's human rights organizations are now waiting for more clarifications from the criminal cases begun in January 2010 and are planning on complimenting them with events such as the March Conference.
The conference, which was developed by the Sebastian Cobler Foundation, was composed of an open podium discussion with Lithuanian and international experts and a workshop of experts and NGO representatives. The workshop consisted of exchanging experiences, building networks, and other forms of co-operation such as preparing concrete judicial measures. Participants of the well-attended conference included parliamentarians, law enforcement authorities, and scholars. The conference was moreover reported on by all of the major radio and television channels.
The development in Lithuania leads us to believe that the roles of other European countries involved in the US-led "War on Terrorism" will be uncovered. While the Inquiry Committee came to the conclusion that there were secret prisons in Lithuania, it could not state with certainty that there were indeed prisoners within them. The Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite defended the report nonetheless. Meanwhile, the Irish Times maintained that Lithuania's investigation was exhaustive. The nation's human rights organizations are now waiting for more clarifications from the criminal cases begun in January 2010 and are planning on complimenting them with events such as the March Conference.