Prosecutors expand probe into border officers’ handling of migrant attack

Prosecutors have expanded an investigation into a July incident involving Lithuanian border guards and migrants who attempted to cross the Lithuania-Belarus border illegally in Lazdijai district, LRT reported on Thursday.

The investigation, initially opened over illegal border crossing, will now examine whether State Border Guard Service officers properly performed their duties. It will also establish whether the migrants committed an offence involving resistance to a public official.

According to LRT, about 20 migrants who were attempting to enter Lithuania through a tunnel under the border attacked four border guards. Some of the migrants escaped back to Belarus while handcuffed.

The incident occurred on July 26, after border guards discovered a tunnel being dug across the border. An investigation opened on July 27 has now been reclassified and expanded based on information about the migrants’ attempted illegal crossing and tunnel construction.

The case is being continued under provisions of the Criminal Code concerning preparation to commit a crime and the illegal transportation of people across the state border.

The expanded investigation will also assess information about the actions of VSAT officers responsible for organising and carrying out border surveillance, control and protection. The Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office has been tasked with organising the investigation, which is being conducted by VSAT officers.

VSAT chief Rustamas Liubajevas said he believed the officers had acted correctly given the circumstances and risks they faced. He said there was no need for a separate internal investigation or other assessment of their actions, adding that no border violation had occurred and nobody had been injured.

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has said he was not properly informed about the incident. The ministry has launched an internal service check by ministerial order.