The move comes as Lithuania prepares to sign legal assistance agreements with the UAE, which would have made it possible for Emilija Sedleckaite to return to her home country to serve a lighter sentence.
However, the Lithuanian citizen was released early after her request for amnesty was granted, Rasa Jakilaitiene, spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, confirmed to BNS.
"We thank the United Arab Emirates for its cooperation [in securing] amnesty for the Lithuanian citizen," Jakilaitiene said.
"Diplomats working in the UAE have put a lot of effort into that. The issue was discussed during the prime minister's visit to the UAE in late October, too. The foreign minister also raised Sedleckaite's issue when he met with UAE representatives during his visit to New York," the spokeswoman said.
"We can only be happy that the Lithuanian citizen is free," she added.
The 15min online news site reported earlier on Tuesday that Sedleckaite's mother had confirmed that Emilija had been released from prison and had no criminal record.
Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry will on Wednesday propose that the government ask President Gitanas Nauseda to authorize Justice Minister Evelina Dobrovolska to sign three treaties with the UAE: on extradition, on legal assistance in criminal cases and on the transfer of convicted persons.
Dobrovolska told BNS that the negotiation process had taken several years.
"The agreements have been finalized and translated," she said. "We expect UAE representatives to come to Lithuania early next year to sign them."
The agreements provide for the transfer of persons suspected, accused or convicted of crimes, and for cooperation in pre-trial investigations, Dobrovolska said.
The longest negotiations were over the agreement that provides for the transfer of a convicted person to their home country to serve their sentence, with the consent of both states and the person.
"We had long discussions on this third treaty so that to make it possible for that person to apply for a pardon or a review of the punishment," Dobrovolska said. "We are glad that certain compromise solutions have been found."
"This agreement is extremely important," she said, adding that the treaty "is not about any specific person".
15min has reported that Sedleckaite was detained in the UAE several years ago when she was on a trip to the country to celebrate her 19th birthday.
Courts of several instances later found the Lithuanian citizen guilty of possession of drugs with the intention of selling them. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 dirhams, or 12,000 euros.
Sedleckaite's family claim that the young woman was "framed" by locals and that Abu Dhabi officials obtained her confession under duress.
Dobrovolska said that several requests for amnesty by the Lithuanian citizen had been rejected.
In Lithuania, the maximum prison sentence for the crime of which Sedleckaite was convicted is 15 years.