Lithuania Questions Automatic Appeal to US Over CIA Prison Ruling
Lithuania's presidential aide has questioned the need to automatically appeal to Washington following a European Court of Human Rights ruling on a secret CIA prison, while confirming compensation will be paid.
Asta Skaisgirytė, the Lithuanian president's chief foreign policy aide, on Tuesday questioned whether Lithuania should automatically appeal to the US following the latest European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling over a CIA prison. Last week, the ECHR awarded Saudi national Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri €30,000 for his unlawful detention in a secret American prison in Lithuania two decades ago. The court also ordered Lithuanian authorities to seek assurances from Washington that the terrorism suspect would not face the death penalty.
"We should definitely discuss this issue thoroughly. I would not be certain that we should apply automatically, as there are certain circumstances in the case where I do not know why we should influence the US authorities on this matter," Skaisgirytė told Žinių Radijas on Tuesday. "However, discussions have not yet taken place, so I will not rush the answer," she added.
At the same time, she confirmed that Lithuania would pay the compensation awarded by the ECHR, although she expressed doubts about certain moral aspects of the ruling. Lithuanian officials have consistently denied that a CIA prison operated in the country two decades ago. With the ECHR having concluded otherwise in several cases, Skaisgirytė said the court had relied on assessments by human rights organizations.
Skaisgirytė also questioned whether Lithuania should launch a fresh investigation into the matter, saying it remained unclear whether this would provide any more clarity. In 2018, the ECHR first ruled that a secret CIA prison had operated in Lithuania between 2005 and 2006, where Abu Zubaydah was held. In 2024, the court awarded €100,000 in compensation to another Saudi national, Mustafa al-Hawsawi.
Lithuania maintains that the site at Antaviliai, near Vilnius, was an intelligence support center rather than a prison. A 2014 US Senate report on secret American prisons did not name specific sites, but human rights campaigners believe the facility referred to as "Violet" in the document operated in Lithuania. The ECHR also relied on this evidence.
