Lithuania returns Russian asylum seeker to Kaliningrad region

Lithuanian border guards detained a Russian citizen who arrived by the Nemunas River from the Kaliningrad region and later returned him to Russia after rejecting his asylum request, LRT reported, citing lrytas.lt.

The man arrived in Lithuania on Thursday evening and was detained within the Pagėgiai municipality, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Giedrius Mišutis said. He was returned to Russia after questioning.

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said the 60-year-old had requested political asylum, claiming he was being persecuted in Russia over his activity on social media. Lithuania did not grant him asylum and returned him to Russia, the minister said.

Authorities said attempts by people from the Kaliningrad region to enter Lithuania are rare. In February, border guards detained a 68-year-old man who had crossed from Russia into Lithuania over the frozen Nemunas. He was found to hold Russian, Irish and German citizenship. A pretrial investigation was opened into the illegal crossing of the state border.

In December, a 20-year-old Russian citizen was detained after illegally crossing the border from the Kaliningrad region. A court ordered his detention for three months.

Border guards have also detained people who attempted to travel along the Nemunas or transport illegal cargo.