Although no Lithuanian laws forbid using famous Kalashnikov machine guns, Lithuania's national defense system has discarded them.
Meanwhile Virginijus Ceslevičius, director of Pravieniškės Correction House, has confirmed guards guarding the perimeter at the prison use Kalashnikov machine guns.
"They are used for the security of correctional facilities. The guns were received after the Russian army left in 1992-1993 and correctional facilities were taken over. It was regulated by special orders of the ministers of internal affairs and of justice," Ceslevičius said, adding that no Kalashnikovs are used inside the correction house as prison guards are armed with handguns.
The fact that Kalashnikovs are also used by border guards has been also confirmed by the State Border Guard Service.
"They are used for the daily service, for example, while protecting the state border, i. e., during patrol," Giedrius Miskutis of the State Border Guard Service said.
The Lithuanian police and the country's Ministry of National Defense have said Kalashnikovs are no longer used neither by police officers nor the Lithuanian army.
2012 07 02
Lithuanian border and prison guards armed with sub-standard Kalashnikovs
Kalashnikov machine guns that do not meet NATO standards have been removed from the weaponry by the Alliance's member countries, including Lithuania. But the country's border and prison guards still use them, the daily Lietuvos Žinios reports.
Kalashnikov machine gun / Andriaus Vaitkevičiaus nuotr.
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