Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has approved the country’s new cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. He described the incoming centre-left government as more capable than the outgoing centre-right government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) will hold the post of prime minister and will have nine ministers in the new government,…
The leader of Lithuania’s far-right Dawn of Nemunas party, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, announced that his party was likely to nominate Virginijus Kulikauskas, former head of the Lithuanian Prison Service, to the position of justice minister, ELTA reports. Earlier, former justice minister, lawyer Gintautas Bartkus declined the party’s nomination to the ministerial post. Meanwhile, President Gitanas Nauseda…
Estonia’s Tallinn Administrative Court has overturned the government’s decision to extradite Estonian citizen Andrei Sevljakov to the US, ERR reports. The court pointed to concerns that detention conditions in US prisons may not meet humane standards. The court instructed the government to obtain assurances from the US that Sevljakov’s prison conditions will not be inhumane….
Estonia is considering housing foreign prisoners in one of its prisons, Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta announced, BBC reports. Estonia’s three prisons in Tallinn, Tartu, and Jõhvi have room for around 1,000 additional prisoners, according to ERR. Pakosta estimated that the state could earn up to EUR 30mn per year from renting out prison space to…
Several countries have expressed interest in renting Estonia’s empty prison space, according to the Ministry of Justice, ERR reports. A ministry official said that neighbouring countries had shown interest, and that European statistics indicated a demand for prison space. However, legislative amendments were needed before renting out prison space, the official added. Earlier reports suggested…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded EUR 100,000 in compensation to Saudi Arabian national Mustafa Al-Hawsawi for his unlawful detention at a secret CIA prison in Lithuania in 2005-2006, BNS reports. The court found that Lithuania was responsible for violating Al-Hawsawi’s rights. Lithuania will comply with the ECHR ruling and pay the…
Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Administrative Court has upheld an appeal annulling the Lithuanian Migration Department’s (LMD) decision to revoke the permanent residence permit of a Russian citizen on national security grounds, BNS reports. Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) found out that the applicant had worked at a prison colony in Sakhalin until 2002. However, the court…
A man serving a sentence for attempted murder escaped from Latvia’s Riga Central Prison on 23 July 2023 but was caught within a few hours, LSM reports. Police launched an extensive search for the convict across the country, limiting the movement of persons and searching vehicles leaving Riga. Interior Minister Maris Kucinskis said that road…
Lithuania’s President, Gitanas Nauseda, will propose stricter penalties for crimes against the state, BNS reports. The proposed amendments would introduce life sentences for organising or taking part in a coup. Currently, the maximum penalty for such an offense is 20 years in prison. Also, the president’s proposed legislation would introduce longer prison terms for being…