Court orders prison to review Gapšys’s leave requests

A Lithuanian administrative court has ordered Kaunas Prison to reconsider former MP Vytautas Gapšys’s requests for permission to leave prison during annual leave, LRT reported.

The Regional Administrative Court upheld a complaint by Gapšys, who is serving a prison sentence for corruption. The dispute arose after Kaunas Prison declined to examine his requests, saying a court case was already under way on essentially the same issue. The Lithuanian Prison Service upheld the prison’s decision.

The court said administrative decisions must clearly set out their reasoning and be based on specific facts and legal provisions. Kaunas Prison had referred to the ongoing court case but did not explain why the new requests were identical to the matter already before the court, it said.

The new requests included additional arguments and documents, including a certificate from the Seimas ombudsman, arguments concerning different requested leave periods and references to the practice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania. The prison should have assessed whether the factual and legal grounds were actually the same, the court said.

The court stressed that the lack of reasoning was a serious violation, but did not mean the prison must grant the requests. On reconsideration, the prison may reach the same decision, provided it gives adequate reasons. The ruling can be appealed.

ELTA reported that next month will mark three years since Gapšys was convicted in a political corruption case and sent to Kaunas Prison to serve his sentence. He has sought early release through the courts, but his previous attempts have been unsuccessful.

In a recent interview with ELTA, Gapšys said that from February 1 next year he would be eligible for parole as a matter of law, without court approval, after serving three-quarters of his sentence. The law provides for parole in such cases unless the prisoner falls into certain categories, including those convicted of particularly serious crimes or those who have made no progress.