Businessman’s time of terror in Lithuanian jail
ACORNISH businessman who spent 14 months locked up in Lithuanian prison has likened the conditions he was forced to endure to a Second World War concentration camp.
Guy Jane, 54, shared cells with some of the worst criminals in the Baltic state, after being convicted of a high-value fraud.
Mr Jane has since been released after his conviction was overturned, and has returned to the UK. Originally from the Truro area but now living in Torquay, he has lifted the lid on conditions in the prison as he continues to go after the Lithuanian state for his wrongful detention.
He said: “It’s disgusting, and there are no words that can describe how I feel and what I’ve been through. In 2009, I went to Lithuania after a friend of mine offered me a job. I became a shareholder in a company with five men but sold the shares in 2011, because conditions were bad and I wanted to come home with my new partner, son and new-born daughter.
“The company was secure when I left, so I didn’t think any more of it, but in 2017 there was a knock on the door. It was Devon and Cornwall Police, saying there was an extradition warrant for me. It went through the courts in England as we fought the extradition, but Lithuania came back with 11 guarantees of acceptable conditions and fair proceedings.
“They broke every one of them. I ended up in prison because of a simple bankruptcy I had nothing to do with,” he added.
When Mr Jane first was extradited to Lithuania, he was told by British police the matters would not take long to iron out. He was arrested along with two other men for allegedly defrauding more than a hundred Lithuanian families who paid for recreational trips abroad. To his shock, he was then jailed for six years and six months, a sentence later reduced by a third.
Mr Jane added: “The main director of the company was Maltese and Malta refused to extradite him, because of the conditions in Lithuania, so they came after me.”
During his incarceration, Mr Jane was sent to Siauliu Tardymo Izoliatorius, a prison in the city of Siauliu which is notorious for its lack of human rights. He said: “It was minus 15 degrees and infested with lice. There was a hole in the floor for a toilet and it was absolutely stinking. I lost 22kg in weight, never saw a doctor, and have been left suffering with mental health problems.
“Most people in the jail were Russian speakers. I didn’t speak to the language, so I mostly kept myself to myself. I was allowed one shower a week unless I bribed the guards with cigarettes. You had to buy your own toilet rolls and the food was beyond disgusting, nobody would eat it. I lived on noodles and hot dogs bought with money my wife sent over.
“People were taking drugs. The windows were smashed so prisoners could pass drugs between the cells, and that’s how all the cold air got in. There was fighting all the time, and one day a Turkish man hit me for no reason and I lost a tooth.”
Mr Jane added: “Ive been writing a book that I’m two thirds through. I sent each part to my wife, Dianna, and she has kept it so I can finish it. I also did drawings for people to get extra food, coffee and tobacco. I did over 40 drawings for the prisoners, one being a Russian mafia boss.
“There were times I tried to harm myself and thought of taking my own life,” he admitted, “but I knew I had to stay strong for the kids. I also found out I’m due to become a grandfather, so that kept me going.”
“The things in that prison simply wouldn’t happen in any other European country,” added Mr Jane, who is now hoping to get his health back on track and get a job, after being freed on February 17. He is now working on his case against the Lithuanian state.