Katelynas says mishandled border reports erode trust

Lithuania’s interior minister, Martynas Katelynas, says inaccurate reporting about incidents can undermine public trust in institutions. LRT reported that he launched an internal inspection of the State Border Guard Service leadership over the handling of a border incident.

“It is very difficult for the public to form a complete picture when every news portal presents different interpretations and different facts,” Katelynas told Žinių radijas on Thursday. He said information could be used as a weapon by hostile actors seeking to undermine confidence in the border guard service and other institutions.

Delfi reported on Wednesday that border guards had set up an ambush after discovering a tunnel being dug beneath the state border in the Kapčiamiestis border station area in Lazdijai District. Four officers detained several migrants and handcuffed them, but around 20 foreigners then attacked the officers.

The officers fled, while the migrants, including those who had been handcuffed, escaped to Belarus. The State Border Guard Service announced that a tunnel had been found and that migrants had fled, but did not mention the attack on the officers.

VSAT commander Rustamas Liubajevas told BNS that the incident had appeared routine and that the minister had therefore not been given a detailed report. He also said that no attack by migrants had been recorded.

Katelynas said he was informed on the morning of July 27 about an intercepted attempt to build a tunnel that could have been used to enter Lithuania. He said he had considerable information about the incident but could not disclose it because of the ongoing pretrial investigation.

The minister said the inspection was intended to establish why the communication had been handled that way and who had decided the information was not significant. If the issue proves to be systemic, someone will have to accept responsibility, he said, adding that leaders must take responsibility based on the inspection’s findings.

Katelynas also said border guards had all the necessary means to defend themselves, but fear of criminal prosecution could affect their willingness to use them.

He referred to the ongoing trial of border guard Karolis Ilgevičius, who is charged with murder and abuse of office. The Vilnius Regional Court is hearing the case over the shooting of a driver who failed to obey officers after Ilgevičius fired at the wheel of a fleeing suspected smuggler’s vehicle.