Lithuania’s ECHR losses suggest CIA prison operated in the country, says Sinkevičius

Lithuania’s repeated defeats in cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) suggest that a secret CIA prison did operate in the country, the leader of the Democratic Party, Virginijus Sinkevičius, has said.

Speaking to journalists, Sinkevičius argued that it was “impossible” to claim nothing happened given the court rulings against Lithuania. He called for a thorough investigation to answer outstanding questions, warning that the current lack of clarity fuels conspiracy theories exploited by adversaries for propaganda.

“Strong societies and strong states are not afraid to answer uncomfortable questions,” Sinkevičius said. “Yes, this is an uncomfortable question, but we must not fear answering it—and with those answers, ensure such a situation never repeats.”

His comments follow a recent ECHR ruling awarding €30,000 in damages to Saudi national Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri over his unlawful detention in a secret US-run facility in Lithuania two decades ago. The court also ordered Lithuanian authorities to seek assurances from Washington that al-Nashiri, a suspected terrorist, would not face the death penalty. This is the third such ECHR judgment against Lithuania in cases linked to alleged CIA detention sites.

Opposition groups have demanded a new parliamentary investigation into the CIA prison claims, while the ruling coalition maintains that previous parliamentary and law enforcement probes already provided answers. Sinkevičius cautioned that any new parliamentary inquiry risked politicisation, stressing the need for cross-party agreement on its scope and focus. He emphasised that the priority should be an investigation by law enforcement institutions.

Lithuania has long denied operating a CIA prison, insisting that facilities near Vilnius and Antavilis identified in past investigations were support centres for intelligence operations, not detention sites. Officials have claimed that suspicious flights linked to the CIA carried communications equipment, not detainees.

Previous investigations, including a 2009 parliamentary probe, found no conclusive evidence that detainees were held in Lithuania, though conditions for such transfers existed. Two sites—one in Vilnius and another in Antavilis—were identified as potential detention locations, alongside several CIA-linked flights to Vilnius and Palanga between 2003 and 2006. Prosecutors launched a pre-trial investigation in 2011 but dropped it after finding no proof that the Antavilis facility was used to detain individuals. A later probe, reopened in 2015, was merged with an investigation into illegal cross-border transfers following a 2014 US Senate report on CIA torture.

First reports of a possible CIA detention centre in Lithuania emerged in 2009, when US broadcaster ABC News claimed eight terror suspects were held near Vilnius between 2004 and 2005.