Legislation, Lithuania

In her words, the pre-trial investigation was launched back in the summer to look into alleged unlawful collection of information about staff of the Ministry of Justice.

"Information significant for the investigation is being collected to identify if any criminal activity was carried out, related to unlawful information collection. Those circumstances are being investigated," Martinoniene told LETA/BNS on Tuesday.

In her words, the investigation was launch in response to the Ministry of Justice's request.

Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevicius told the news agency he's aware of the law enforcement investigation but refrained from elaborating.

Sources say law enforcement is investigating alleged surveillance of Dorita Visalgiene, head of the internal audit division at the Ministry of Justice, and also Renata Morkunaite, an advisor at the same division.

The two women, as well as Rasa Kazeniene, who worked at the ministry at the time and previously worked at the Kaunas Remand Prison and disclosed corruption ties within the prison system, carried out an audit of the Prison Department's operations in 2015-2017 later this year. The audit revealed multiple violations.

The delfi.lt new website reported on Monday it had received information from a prisoner at the Vilnius Correction House, saying that he was ordered by Gintaras Zaveckis, the former head of the Immunity Unit at the Prison Department, to follow Kazeniene. But the website said the conversation with the inmate did not take place after he was subjected to direct pressure.

Kazeniene told the website she had seen herself how Zaveckis allegedly followed her. He later resigned from the Prison Department after heading the Immunity Unit since 2000.

Kazeniene told on Tuesday she plans to turn to the Prosecutor General's Office over the information about her alleged surveillance, reported by delfi.lt