Human rights activists appeal to Lithuania
A British human rights organisation has officially contacted the Lithuanian government. The issue is allegations of torture: according to a report by the English magazine “Morning Star,” new evidence has reportedly emerged of torture in CIA prisons—which Lithuania allegedly also knew about.
The alleged torture victim Abu Zubaydah is a Palestinian who has since been declared innocent. He is said to have been held in various secret CIA prisons from 2002 to 2006, including in Lithuania as well as Poland. Human rights activists have now urged the Lithuanian government to help clarify the case. In a letter addressed to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, activists from the British prisoner-support organisation “Reprieve” made the request. Despite his innocence having been established, Abu Zubaydah is reportedly still being held at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. “Reprieve” now wants Lithuania to explain what happened to the imprisoned Palestinian while he was in the country.
Human rights activists appeal to Lithuania
Date: 30/09/2026
According to the “Morning Star” report, Abu Zubaydah was arrested during a US raid in Pakistan in late March 2002. Zubaydah was then allegedly subjected to “waterboarding”—which the United States does not consider a method of torture—and other forms of coercion in various highly secret CIA prisons, including in Thailand, Poland, Lithuania and Morocco.
The existence of these secret US prisons in Europe continues to be denied by the United States. The CIA allegedly established secret prisons in countries such as Romania, Poland and Lithuania in direct response to the attacks of September 1, 2001. Despite numerous indications, the governments of Lithuania, Romania and Poland also deny that these prisons existed.
Christian Bathen
