Lithuanian border guards pushed out illegal refugees, who crossed the border with Lithuania, into Belarus at night: they beat them with batons and kicked women. A video with the victims' stories has appeared in the Internet. It was made by the order of the Minister of the Interior of Lithuania, Agne Bilotaite and Deputy Minister of Interior Abaramavicius. They stated that the border guards have the right to apply all necessary measures to stop the flow of migrants. Judging by the accounts of the refugees who found themselves on the Belarusian side of the border again, the range of these measures is extremely wide.
The expelled refugees show traces of beatings on the video - abrasions on hands, scars from blows with truncheons on backs and other things. The migrants were escorted out of Lithuania by dogs. It should be noted that the use of force in such a situation and forcing migrants to cross the border is expressly prohibited by international law. In particular, Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states that "deportation or forcible transfer of population" is a crime and is strictly forbidden.
Belarusian border guards and medics help the Iraqi refugees deported from Lithuania to Belarus. All injuries to migrants are diagnosed and recorded. Information about the fracture that resulted from the refugee's encounter with Lithuanian border guards is also being verified.
Anton Bychkovsky, official representative of the State Border Committee of Belarus:
The border guard authorities have recorded migrants crossing the border from the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. During the last day about 40 foreigners have been forcibly deported to Belarus by representatives of the neighboring party. These citizens have signs of body injuries of varying degrees of severity, and are in a depressed moral and psychological state. Among them, there are women and children, against whom physical force was also used. At present, the victims are being provided with all the necessary assistance with the involvement of specialists, and measures are being taken to clarify all the circumstances. We believe it is unacceptable to use such methods and means against vulnerable people, especially women and children. Such actions are a gross violation of human rights and are subject to investigation by competent authorities, including international ones.












