Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06VILNIUS83
2006-01-26 12:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Vilnius
Cable title:  

A VIEW FROM BEHIND BARS: VILNIUS'S LUKISKES

Tags:  CASC CMGT CPAS PGOV LH 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 000083 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, CA/OCS (M. URBINA-MITTNACHT)
FRANKFURT FOR RSC-RCO RBROWN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC CMGT CPAS PGOV LH
SUBJECT: A VIEW FROM BEHIND BARS: VILNIUS'S LUKISKES
PRISON

REF: VILNIUS 82

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 000083

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, CA/OCS (M. URBINA-MITTNACHT)
FRANKFURT FOR RSC-RCO RBROWN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC CMGT CPAS PGOV LH
SUBJECT: A VIEW FROM BEHIND BARS: VILNIUS'S LUKISKES
PRISON

REF: VILNIUS 82


1. This is the second cable in a two-part series detailing
efforts law enforcement in Lithuania's capital of Vilnius
is taking to meet the increased demand upon its services by
a burgeoning tourist industry, and a review of Vilnius's
local criminal justice facilities.


2. Summary. Lithuania maintains a highly structured and
transparent prison system that fully complies with EU and
international norms for the treatment and housing of the
perpetrators of crime. Americans charged with more serious
infractions of Lithuania's penal code will reside in the
former tsarist "model" prison of Lukiskes in a special wing
with other foreign nationals until their cases are
resolved. During a site visit to this principal
penitentiary for Vilnius, senior administrators told
Consular staff that while conditions are humane, they face
overcrowding and a shortage of financing that can affect
the quality of services it provides to inmates. End
Summary.


3. Three members of Post's consular staff, including a
Vice Consul, Senior ACS FSN, and Fraud Assistant on January
17 toured Vilnius' Lukiskes prison. Staff met with
Lukiskes Prison Director Arvydas Izicka and Deputy Director
Jonas Malaskevicius. Discussions with interlocutors were
open and frank, and consular staff were offered complete
access to the entire facility. Consular staff toured the
renovated maximum-security wing, and the respective non-
renovated wings housing minimum-security inmates and
juveniles. Staff also toured the prison's chapel and art
studio.

--------------
Lukiskes Prison
--------------


4. Americans who face criminal charges in Vilnius above
the simple misdemeanor level (reftel) will be transferred
within 48 hours from the police station where they were
held following their arrest to Lukiskes prison, where they
will be held until the resolution of their case.
Foreigners are housed separately from the general
population in single or double-occupancy cells. Those of
the same nationality, when possible, are housed together.

--------------
Facilities
--------------


5. Built in 1904 as a model prison of modernity by tsarist
authorities, the Lukiskes penitentiary remains Vilnius's
largest facility. Though its residents include all strata
of the criminal justice system, from teenagers and women to
maximum-security inmates, the prison's primary function is
to serve as a temporary housing facility for those
following arraignment, participating in their trial, or
awaiting sentencing. Though the prison's current
population stands some 200 inmates above its maximum
occupancy of 864, the prison's leadership proudly noted the
humane treatment and myriad of services available to
inmates. The prison, they said, has hosted three
inspections from the EU's Committee on Human Rights, as
well as a visit by the Queen of Sweden. Some 400 guards
and administrative personnel staff the prison. The
facility holds 70 maximum-security inmates in single cell
housing in a newly renovated wing. Separate buildings
house the medium- and minimum-security wings, with some 145
inmates of the former living in generally two-person cells,
and some 75 non-violent offenders of the latter category
living communally. Other buildings house some ten juvenile
offenders between the ages of 16-18, and approximately 40
women.


6. The prison's population sees a great deal of turnover,
because some 700 prisoners are temporarily housed as their
cases wind through the court system before being released
or transferred to other long-term housing facilities
throughout Lithuania. Long-term housing facilities for
juvenile and female prisoners, for example, are located in
the cities of Kaunas and Panevezys, respectively.

--------------
Renovations and Services
--------------


7. Interlocutors said that funding shortfalls dragged out
renovations to the maximum-security wing, with a price tag
of 180,000 USD, over a ten-year period. They hope that
Lithuania's accession to the EU in 2004 will spur
additional allotments for renovations from Lithuania's
parliament, since most inmates inhabit the non-renovated
portions of the facility that may best be described as
Soviet-ramshackle.


8. All permanent residents of the prison have the right to
a TV, with cable hookup provided at no cost, a DVD or VCR
player, and a computer, though Internet access is
prohibited. Inmates are provided educational opportunities
from vocational (such as IT) or GED classes to university
and graduate programs. Educators from local institutions,
such as Vilnius Pedagogical University, regularly visit the
prison to provide instruction.


9. All permanent residents of the prison may work, though
maximum- and minimum-security inmates are always kept
apart. While most work for the prisoners is focused on
maintaining the inmates and the facilities, the prison has
an agreement with a Lithuanian-German venture for the
production of wood products, such as birdhouses, rabbit
hutches, and wine boxes. Representatives of the
partnership regularly visit the prison to select inmates to
work and to conduct quality control. The company pays
inmates a wage, and EU labor laws govern the work. Though
the German company keeps most of the profits, they do
contribute money to a general welfare fund to assist
inmates who do not work. Interlocutors note that
approximately half of the inmates work in some capacity.

--------------
Nutrition
--------------


10. Claiming that the prisoners often eat better than the
guards, interlocutors said that the prison provides
sustenance that meets minimum EU caloric and nutrition
guidelines. Post's medical officer, however, recently
recommended augmenting daily protein and fiber intake for
an American citizen-prisoner housed in a regional prison
facility. All prisoners at Lukiskes may supplement their
nutrition by purchasing food from the well-stocked "dry"
prison canteen with money either earned through work at the
prison or with funds credited to their account by friends
or relatives. (NOTE: Interlocutors told us that in some
EU countries prisoners may only use funds earned themselves
in the prison canteen.) Though inmates may no longer
receive care packages, relatives may bring food to the
prison, and, in some cases, eat with the inmates in special
administrative rooms.

--------------
Health Care
--------------


11. Every individual housed in the Lukiskes prison
receives a comprehensive medical exam during in-processing,
even if they were only transferred from another facility
for a short time. HIV and TB screenings are part of this
exam. Most medical care is provided by a nearby, though
off-site, prison-run hospital. Psychologists,
psychiatrists, and social workers regularly visit the
facility. A psychologist works full time in the juvenile
wing. Interlocutors noted that the prison provides classes
to inmates focused on such topics as HIV and suicide
prevention as well as some nine "psychological"
rehabilitation programs focused on such topics as drug and
alcohol abuse.

--------------
Exercise
--------------


12. The prison has exercise facilities available to its
long-term residents. The wing for juvenile offenders has
its own exercise room, with a stationary bicycle, step
machine, inclined bench and pull up bar. Interlocutors
noted that the most popular form of exercise between April
and October is basketball.

--------------
Religion
--------------


13. Inmates are free to practice their religion of choice.
Formal religious ceremonies for practitioners of
Catholicism and Orthodoxy are conducted in the on-site
chapel. Inmates held in the maximum-security wing may
receive services in their cells, as can those of other
faiths.

--------------
Comment
--------------


14. Though most mischief-causing American tourists will
see nothing more severe than the local police station
holding tank, those that find themselves in Lukiskes prison
awaiting adjudication of their case will likely find the
conditions tolerable and humane.

KELLY