Border guard deputy says officer charged over fatal shooting defended Lithuania

A prosecutor has asked a court to convict border guard Karolis Ilgevičius over the fatal shooting of a suspected smuggler and impose a two-year restriction-of-liberty sentence. The deputy head of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Saulius Nekraševičius, said the officer had defended the state and its people, LRT reported.

Speaking to journalists after a hearing at Vilnius Regional Court on Wednesday, Nekraševičius said the border guard service trusted the court to assess the case. He said the officers had acted to protect the state and its people.

Prosecutor Darius Šneideris has asked the court to find Ilgevičius guilty of killing a person while seeking to detain someone suspected of an offence, and of abusing his authority. He is seeking a two-year restriction-of-liberty sentence without intensive supervision, compensation for the deceased man’s family and a 2,500-euro payment to the Crime Victims Fund.

Šneideris said a prison sentence would not be just in the circumstances. He noted that the law provides for a prison term of seven to 15 years for murder, but argued that imposing the minimum term would not properly uphold the principle of justice. He also said the deceased man’s unlawful actions contributed to the incident because he did not stop when border guards tried to pull him over.

Ilgevičius has denied guilt and said he aimed at the car’s wheel.

The case concerns an incident on June 1, 2024, in Šalčininkai district near the border with Belarus. Border guards were searching for drones that had flown into Lithuania carrying packages when they saw a car travelling along a road. The driver did not stop when officers tried to halt the vehicle.

According to the investigation, Ilgevičius fired once at the departing car, in breach of rules governing the use of firearms. Authorities said the driver posed no direct threat to the officers, road safety or other people. He suffered a fatal injury to the back of his head and neck and died at the scene. The car, driven by a man previously convicted of smuggling, hit a tree and stopped; officers found cigarettes inside.

The prosecution says the evidence indicates that Ilgevičius exceeded his authority while trying to detain the suspected offender, causing significant non-material harm to the victim’s relatives, the border guard service and the state. Ilgevičius now works as a systems monitoring operator at the same border post.

Former VSAT chief Rustamas Liubajevas has said an adverse court ruling could set an unfavourable precedent concerning officers’ right to use firearms. The widow of the man who was shot, Andzej A., is seeking 120,000 euros in compensation.