US had secret detention camp in Lithuania

The head of parliament's national security and defence committee revealed that the domestic intelligence service had opened two detention centres in co-operation with the CIA.

Arvydas Anusauskas said that top officials had not been informed about the jails, and that they had not been appproved by politicians.

The investigation found that five planes related to the CIA landed in Lithuania in 2003-2006 and that domestic intelligence officials stopped customs and border guards from inspecting them.

"Regarding the 'cargo,' I can't confirm anything, because Lithuanian authorities could not carry out the usual checks, so what was being transported was unknown," Mr Anusauskas explained.

The panel of MPs kicked off its investigation into the CIA prisons in November after the US channel ABC alleged that the ex-Soviet republic had hosted a so-called CIA "black site," or secret interrogation facility, up to 2005.

ABC cited unnamed former intelligence officials and records of flights between Afghanistan and Lithuania.

It alleged that Lithuanian officials had agreed to host the prisons in return for Washington's support for Lithuania's 2004 admission into NATO.

Mr Anusauskas said: "We have identified the sites. The first project was developed from 2002.

"In response to the wishes of our partners and the conditions that were imposed, the site was meant to host one person. The second site was created in 2004."

He said that the parliamentary probe had concluded that Lithuania's two presidents over the period were "not informed, or only informed superficially" about the sites.

The parliamentary commission asked prosecutors to investigate three of the country's former state security officials over possible abuses of power.

Responding to the commission's findings, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said: "It is deeply worrying that a small group of state security department officials could make a decision to establish a detention centre without informing the society and state officials."

Mr Kubilas declared that the officers had violated Lithuanian law and ignored the negative consequences to Lithuania's international reputation.

"Lithuania is a strategic US ally, and co-operation in many fields, including secret operations and counter-terrorism, is very important," he said, adding: "However, the strategic partnership with the US cannot be an excuse to essentially operate under Soviet methods, to ignore the civil control of special services and to violate existing laws."