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Artūras Marcinkevičius, a Vilnius resident who spent fourteen years behind bars for crimes he committed, says that the planned changes could lead to unrest in prisons – convicts are reportedly being banned from owning televisions, as well as using computers and music players. “What is left for convicts to do then – get high on drugs?” said the man, who was released just two months ago. “If society knew what is really going on in prisons, they would look at prisoners differently – now they only present what is written on paper, and the reality is completely different, there is a deplorable situation there that has not changed for many years and, worst of all, no one even wants the situation to change,” said A. Marcinkevičius. Although the Ministry of Justice, to which the Prison Department is subordinate, is planning cardinal changes in the system of execution of sentences, the former convict does not believe that the situation will fundamentally change. In addition, the man is convinced that there is no need to listen to politicians' speeches - he says that both convicts and the officers supervising them cannot recover from the changes in ministers. "And the new minister, when she arrived at the correctional facility, was not able to answer the questions that are relevant to us," the former prisoner explained. In an interview with Delfi.lt, A. Marcinkevičius told not only how prisons have changed during the fourteen years he spent behind bars, but also about how convicts are forced to cooperate with criminal intelligence officers and what awaits those who refuse to comply with their requests, as well as women who decide to marry prisoners. Female officers working in the penal system are no exception, often establishing very close relationships with convicts. The full interview is in the video, also read on Delfi: www.delfi.lt/a/89312047