Prosecutors expand probe into Lithuania-Belarus border incident

Prosecutors have expanded an investigation into a July incident involving border guards and migrants who attempted to cross the Lithuania-Belarus border illegally in Lazdijai District, LRT reported. The investigation will examine whether the officers properly performed their duties.

About 20 migrants attacked four border guards as the officers tried to stop them. Some of the migrants were handcuffed, but they escaped back into Belarus.

Rustamas Liubajevas, head of the State Border Guard Service, said after meeting the officers on duty at the Kapčiamiestis border guard station that the incident was a routine work-related event.

“I am convinced that the officers acted according to the situation and all the risks that existed at the time. I see no need to open an investigation or conduct an internal review into them, or to assess their actions in any other way. I am convinced that they acted correctly. There was no breach of the state border, and no one was injured,” Liubajevas told LRT television on Thursday.

The incident took place on July 26, after border guards discovered a tunnel being dug underground near the border. Migrants attempting to enter Lithuania through it attacked the officers.

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas has said he was not properly informed about the incident. He said he was told only that border guards had stopped the digging of a tunnel, and learned the other details on Wednesday afternoon from social media.

Katelynas said he summoned Liubajevas to provide an urgent explanation. According to the minister, the border guard chief accepted responsibility for failing to properly assess the importance of the incident and inform the minister. The minister ordered an internal review into the incident and the inadequate flow of information.

Prosecutors expand investigation

The initial investigation was launched on July 27 over suspected illegal crossing of the state border in the area served by the Kapčiamiestis border guard station of the Varėna Border Guard Unit.

After assessing the available information about roughly 20 people illegally crossing the border and digging the tunnel, prosecutors reclassified the suspected offences. The investigation will continue under provisions concerning preparation to commit a crime and the illegal transportation of people across the state border.

The investigation has also been expanded to clarify the initial information and verify publicly reported details about the actions of State Border Guard Service officers responsible for organising and carrying out border monitoring, control and protection. The facts will be assessed objectively and impartially.

Investigators are also determining whether an offence involving resistance to a state servant or a person performing public administration functions was committed.

The investigation has been assigned to the Second Criminal Prosecution Division of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office. It is being conducted by State Border Guard Service officers.