VILNIUS — Attempts to save money by the cash-strapped jails of Lithuania and prisoner disobedience has led to inmates being denied access to hot water or the ability to bathe at all.

After an initial request by authorities at the Kybartai Correctional Institute to prisoners to reduce their water usage was flaunted, prison authorities cracked down reducing the duration of electricity and removing kettles, refrigerators and other comforts that prisoners enjoy, Lietuvos Žinios reported.

Following the laying off of staff and reducing the wages of remaining prison employees, prisoner conditions had to be reduced to save money. The efforts are reportedly saving some prisons up to 2,000 litas (€580) per month.

When prison staff asked prisoners to limit water usage, the opposite reaction was seen with water bills going up significantly that month — more than 1,000 cubic meters of water more was used than the month prior. A move to lock the doors to showers was thwarted when prisoners broke the lock.

“We are obliged to reduce their water use. We constructed a door on the washing facilities so they might be locked. Yes and we do lock them for several hours, as the inmates themselves will not save,” Edmundas Žalys, Kybartai’s warden told the press.

The broken locks and damaged doors led the prisoners to be given cold water only.

Prisoners reacting to the ever harsher measures responded with threats of hunger strikes and written complaints.

Similar complaints demanding basic humans rights standards be met have gone unheard in the past, according to a legal expert wishing to remain anonymous.

In some prisons in Lithuania, no bathing is permitted except for a weekly visit to the sauna, where prisoners can sweat away their filth.

The average prisoner costs around 23,000 litai (€6,600) a year to keep locked up.

There are various ideas for the prison system to save money including forcing prisoners to pay for their own electricity. That and other legislation is currently being considered by law makers.