Lithuanian lawmakers to probe CIA prisons

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Lithuanian lawmakers are taking a third look into reports that the CIA secretly held al-Qaida leaders in the Baltic country, officials said.

Twice before Lithuania's Parliament determined no evidence indicated the CIA imprisoned suspected terrorists in the country, but new reports of CIA flights ferrying prisoners from Afghanistan to Lithuania and revelations that U.S. contractors built a high-security complex near Vilnius have renewed suspicions, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Lithuania's leaders indicate they no longer dismiss the possibility that the CIA operated a secret prison in their country, the Post said. Last month, newly elected President Dalia Grybauskaite said she had "indirect suspicions" that the reports may be true and urged lawmakers to conduct a more thorough investigation.

Dainius Zalimas, a Lithuanian Defense Ministry legal adviser, said a covert prison would violate Lithuanian statutes and international human rights conventions the government signed. If Parliament finds firm evidence, prosecutors would be obliged to open a case, he said.

"From a legal point of view, it would mean that Lithuania, along with the United States, was contributing to quite serious violations of human rights," Zalimas told the Post.

The Washington Post first revealed the CIA's overseas prison network in 2005.