Lithuanian leader suspects her country hosted CIA jail

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Tuesday she had “indirect suspicions” that the Baltic state hosted a secret CIA prison for terror suspects, as a senior European official called for a beefed-up probe.

“I do not have a clear answer. I was in Brussels when it could have been happening. I have indirect suspicions. Not only I, but also the international community,” Grybauskaite told reporters.

Grybauskaite took office as president in July after having served since 2004 as Lithuania’s member of the European Union’s Brussels-based executive.

She has pledged to probe the claims, which surfaced in August and have been denied by the Lithuanian government.

The US station ABC, citing unnamed ex-CIA officials, claimed Lithuania hosted a prison for “high-value” Al-Qaeda suspects. The facility in the former Soviet republic, now a staunch US ally, was allegedly closed in 2005.

ABC also revived claims about former sites in Romania and Poland. The governments of both countries have denied them, although the head of a Polish inquiry this year said he had had “justified suspicions”.