Prison Chief: Dismissed Employee Came for a Visit with an Inmate

The head of the Lithuanian Department of Corrections, M. Kairys, revealed that a recently dismissed employee allegedly visited an inmate the day after her termination. This incident raises serious questions about the circumstances surrounding her departure and the security protocols within the correctional system.

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The next day after dismissal, she came for a visit with a convicted person – what kind of trade union arguments can we talk about? It's hard for me to even comment.

Kairys indicated that investigations are ongoing into the alleged security management issues at the Vilnius prison. He stated that the employee's desire to leave her job was voluntary, and she received severance pay. However, after suspicions arose about her relationship with an inmate, she was transferred to a different facility, Sniego Street, where she immediately fell ill and remained on sick leave.

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After the situation regarding the possible lack of control in the security area at Vilnius Prison became clear, we started investigations, and they are currently being conducted.

Despite her prolonged absence and stated reason for leaving being illness, the employee allegedly visited an inmate post-dismissal. Kairys also mentioned that disciplinary checks are being conducted on two other former employees. He highlighted a potential conflict of interest involving Darius Čekavičius, the head of security at Vilnius Prison and also the chairman of the prison's trade union, who has criticized the department's leadership.

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We are assessing the entire security situation more broadly.

This situation follows previous reports in July and early August concerning inappropriate relationships between prison staff and inmates. Two female prison officers left their jobs due to romantic ties with prisoners, and one catering company employee had her access permit revoked. The Vilnius prison also reported another case of non-service relations, where a Resocialization Department employee maintained such ties with inmates for about six months. Kairys assured that all cases of misconduct and violations in prisons across the country would not be concealed.

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His area of operation is this control. We see a conflict of interest when a person responsible for managing these processes now feels attacked when we see gaps. We are not talking about attacking someone – we are talking about thousands of employees whose reputation is tarnished by this situation.