Case before the European Court of Human Rights concerning fines imposed on Sienos Grupė volunteers
2024 03 18
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated a case (application No. 27534/23) concerning fines imposed by VSAT on three Sienos Grupė volunteers who rescued a Syrian national at the border. The fines were imposed for alleged violations of border regime regulations (Code of Administrative Offences, Article 536(1)).
On Christmas Eve 2021, Sienos Grupė volunteers responded to a distress call from a Syrian national suffering from frostbite and unable to walk. After locating him, they immediately called medical services. VSAT officers fined each volunteer EUR 100 for failure to comply with lawful orders during a state of emergency (Code of Administrative Offences, Article 506(41)). Following the reopening of proceedings, the fines were reduced to EUR 65 and reclassified under Article 536(1).
By decision of 30 September 2022 in case No. II-103-445/2022, the Alytus District Court replaced the fines with warnings. However, the Kaunas Regional Court upheld the administrative penalty by ruling of 15 December 2022 in case No. AN2-344-926/2022.
Before the ECtHR, the applicants argue that the sanctions imposed on humanitarian volunteers violated Articles 6 (right to a fair trial) and 11 (freedom of association) of the European Convention on Human Rights.