Minister questions border service reporting after tunnel incident

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has ordered an investigation into whether Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service properly reported an incident involving a tunnel under the state border, LRT reported.

The incident took place in the area of the Kapčiamiestis border post, where a tunnel was reportedly being dug under the border. Four Lithuanian border guards set an ambush and detained several migrants, but about 20 others allegedly attacked the officers, forcing them to flee. The migrants then escaped into Belarus, including some who had been handcuffed.

The State Border Guard Service did not deny that the incident had occurred but did not mention the alleged attack. After meeting the officers involved, the service’s head, Rustamas Liubajevas, said the information was inaccurate and that the incident could not be described as an attack.

Prosecutors launched a pretrial investigation into illegal border crossing at the end of July. This week, the investigation was expanded to determine whether border officials had properly carried out their duties.

Katelynas said he was informed that a tunnel had been found at the location, but received the rest of the information from the media on Wednesday, before a government meeting.

“The head of the State Border Guard Service provided his explanation as to why, in his view, the incident was not reported. It was said to be an insignificant event that did not require informing the minister,” Katelynas said.

However, he said the discovery of the tunnel and what happened during the attempt to detain the migrants were separate matters, and that the minister should have been informed about both.

“There is an earlier order from the interior minister specifying which events require the political leadership to be informed. As far as I understand, and I believe firmly, this event automatically falls on that list,” he said.

Katelynas said he could only presume that regulations may have been breached, which was why an internal review had been launched. The review will be conducted by a unit responsible for such matters within the Interior Ministry.

He said the investigation would establish whether the officials had acted in accordance with the law. He added that timely reporting was important not only for the political leadership, which must make decisions based on developments at the border, but also for public confidence in the services.

Liubajevas has said that the publicly reported account of the incident, according to which Lithuanian officers were attacked and fled, was exaggerated. Katelynas was asked whether he had been informed about that version of events.