During the investigation, it was established that in places of deprivation of liberty there is an uneven practice of purchasing food supplements (vitamins) for the arrested/convicted persons at their personal expense.

After assessing this circumstance, the Seimas Ombudsperson stated  that persons with the same legal status of an arrested/convicted person (from the point of view of law, these persons have the same scope of rights and obligations regardless of the place of deprivation of liberty they are held in) do not have the same opportunities to purchase with their personal funds food supplements (vitamins), because they are kept in places of deprivation of liberty, whose officers interpret the established legal regulation differently and follow the internal rules of correctional institutions and detention centers in their activities differently, i.e. in one place of deprivation of liberty, an arrested person/convict can purchase and have desired food supplements (vitamins), but when transferred to another place of deprivation of liberty, he loses the latter possibility. According to the Seimas Ombudsperson, the principle of equality of persons may be violated if the convicts/arrested persons in different correctional institutions are subject to a different procedure for purchasing food supplements (vitamins).

Erika Leonaitė also found that prisoners/convicts with HIV and AIDS cannot choose which foods to consume, and therefore are forced to eat according to a menu that is not adapted to them. It was established that due to the lack of a special menu and problems with the application of the above-mentioned rules, which could prevent these persons from being able to purchase the nutritional supplements (vitamins) they need from their own funds, the health condition of some of the arrested/convicted may deteriorate and that could be considered a violation of their right to access to health care.    

Taking into account the above-mentioned, the Seimas Ombudsperson recommended the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, as the institution that formulates the policy of the execution of sentences as well as the Director of the Prison Department under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania to initiate changes to legal acts, creating equal opportunities for arrested/convicted persons in all places of deprivation of liberty at their own expense to purchase desired food supplements (vitamins). 

In future in order to prevent the violation of the principle of equality of persons as well as violation to deny the right of the arrested/convicted persons to access to health care, the Seimas Ombudsperson Erika Leonaitė also drew attention to the main shortcomings of the currently valid legal regulation and the observations of the competent authorities regarding it. 

It should be noted that following the recommendations of the Seimas Ombudsperson the legislation currently in force was changed, establishing that the arrested/convicted persons have the right to purchase the amount of food supplements determined by the Prison Department in manufactures’ packages following to the list established by the Prison Department.