International Amnesty lawyer, Julia Hall, and the former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Novak, urged today, in a public audition on torture, the European Parliament to reopen a criminal investigation into secret CIA detentions, and namely concerning a centre set up in Lithuania, defending that there are enough evidences to proceed with the probe.

“The optional protocol to the convention against torture establishes all the competent means to condemn the criminals and to protect and to give support to victims and families in this situation, and unfortunately most of the difficult questions that were risen during the investigation remain unanswered”, Manfred Novak considered. 

Prosecutors closed the Lithuanian case last week, enhancing a lack of evidence, but human rights organizations as Amnesty International criticized the decision, claiming they have evidence that the place was used to interrogate and torture terrorism suspects. According to Julia Hall, wikileaks cables have only confirmed what was already known giving credibility to its actors and showing the pressure that European governments suffered by American authorities.

“As a sequence of the previous report, a new report should be established in order to include the recent developments and to make pressure over the national authorities to clearly answer the posed questions. We have to make justice to the victims and to hold people accountable for serious human rights violations", the IA lawyer demanded.

However, “it is not enough to give monetary compensations to the affected people, it is necessary to impede the repetition of the acts”, Julia Hall concluded.

The organised crime that occurs inside the States regarding this issue it is not a mere incident, the society is being a victim of its own governments and it is the European Parliament’s duty to let the truth surface and to continue the work done in the previous investigation, emphasized GUE/NGL MEP and EL member Rui Tavares.