A mysterious enterprise in a secluded property in Antaviliai, Lithuania, near Vilnius, was revealed to be a secret C.I.A. detention and torture center known as Site Violet. Muscular young men were seen jogging through the forest, and a security fence was put up around the property to keep outsiders away. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in January that there was a secret prison in Lithuania as part of the C.I.A.’s detainee program. This raised questions about Lithuanian complicity in C.I.A. torture, with Poland also acknowledging its involvement in hosting a secret American prison.
Despite mounting evidence and court rulings, Lithuania has maintained an air of official secrecy and loyalty to the United States, refraining from openly discussing the issue of the secret prison on its territory. The country’s dependence on the U.S. for security, given its proximity to Russia, has led to a reluctance to confront the past. Efforts to investigate what happened to the funds provided by the C.I.A. for the secret prison have faced obstacles in identifying those responsible for potential financial discrepancies.
President Dalia Grybauskaite’s indirect suspicions of a secret prison in Lithuania and call for accountability and apologies from the U.S. highlighted tensions between the Lithuanian government and the American Embassy. However, officials have largely remained silent on the issue, fearing the repercussions of admitting to the existence of the secret C.I.A. prison. The European Court of Human Rights rulings have further pressured Lithuania into acknowledging its role and compensating former detainees held at Site Violet.
The site of the former detention center in Antaviliai, which was taken over by the Lithuanian security service after the C.I.A. left, has since been turned into a training center for the prison service. The property, originally intended for auction, now serves as a reminder of a dark chapter in Lithuania’s history of hosting a secret C.I.A. black site. The decision to repurpose the site, despite its past associations with torture and abuse, reflects the government’s attempts to move past the controversy surrounding Site Violet.
Despite efforts to downplay and conceal the truth about the C.I.A.’s activities in Lithuania, the European Court of Human Rights rulings and ongoing legal challenges from former detainees have kept the issue alive. The reluctance of Lithuanian officials to fully address the implications of the secret prison has drawn criticism and raised concerns about accountability and transparency. As the story of Site Violet continues to unfold, it serves as a stark reminder of the complex web of complicity and secrecy surrounding the C.I.A.’s global operations.
