Sienos Grupė

They arrived in Belarus with the help of an acquaintance of the husband, whom they believed could assist them. However, upon arrival, this person—whom they did not actually know—put them into a taxi and abandoned them in the forest. When they reached Lithuania, they were picked up by a vehicle with border guard officers, whom they asked for help, as they had walked many kilometers. They requested medical assistance (their feet were in very poor condition) and asked about the possibility of applying for asylum, but the border guard officers said they could not help. The officers gave them water and said that asylum was not possible. Only their daughter was able to communicate, as she spoke English. They were driven for about an hour to some place that appeared to be the border. The officers forced them to cross the border and then closed it again, saying that they were now in Belarus and should continue on foot.

Then a couple appeared—the man was drunk, and the woman called the Belarusian border guards. The officers put them into an old minibus, took them to abandoned warehouses, and began interrogating them with their daughter acting as an interpreter. The officers did not believe them and, without any evidence, accused them of crimes. They showed the daughter three dead people and said that the same fate awaited them if they did not tell the truth. They were detained for a long time, and at some point a tall man arrived, only his eyes visible, along with another young man—both Belarusians, one of them carrying a large weapon. These men drove them around for a long time and then ordered them to get out. They were frightened because the armed man was behind them and ordered them to follow. Once again, they were sent back to Lithuania, this time crossing a swamp.

In Lithuania, officers apprehended them again, but afterward no assistance was provided—neither medical nor otherwise—despite the horrific condition of their feet. They contacted family members and sought help. When they were ordered to cross the border, they were told to stay there until dusk so as not to be detected by cameras or drones. They were in the middle of a swamp while family members were flying to the area. Officers found them, took their phones and passports, removed the SIM cards, told them they would no longer be able to communicate with their family members, and sent them back to Belarus. The phones were returned without the SIM cards, which were never returned.

Eventually, they were again apprehended by the same Belarusian officers. One officer laughed and asked, “Again?” That was when they understood the cruelty of the border guards, who said it was like a football match—they would be kicked back and forth. This time they were sent toward Latvia. They were secretly led through a swamp so that people would not see them. Very late, they were transported away; the drivers changed. A young man approached and forcefully struck her husband from behind, stunning him. The person who struck him was a young officer. Then the driver changed again, and they were taken to another nearby town in Belarus.

When this officer got into the vehicle, he was holding metal shears. She was frightened but thought the tool was meant to cut the fence so they could cross the border. When they reached a hilly area, the officers ordered them to get out. One officer began speaking to her son, who did not understand. A darker-skinned officer was about to beat the son, and she intervened to stop him. The officer made gestures to the daughter indicating that he intended to cut off a finger.

They reached a swamp. In the middle of it, where the fence ran, they were forced to cross the border. These were horrific moments; they thought they would drown. When they managed to cross the border through the swamp, the officers banged on the fence, and then Latvian border guards arrived—there were three of them. There was an older man with light, thinning hair and two women. They asked these officers for help, and the officers bandaged their feet, as their condition was critical. They applied for asylum, and the officers calmly said they would take them to a place where it would be explained how to proceed.

The officers did not give them food or water, so they drank swamp water and ate apples they found. No officers ever gave them anything, except the first time when they were given water. Border guards waited until dusk; then a police car with two men arrived, as well as a completely black minibus with four fully covered officers, with only their eyes visible. The latter did not introduce themselves and said nothing. An officer ordered them to get into the minibus. Her son helped his stepfather get in, but one of the officers told him not to help and ordered the stepfather to get in on his own. The four men shone flashlights—one of them was darker-skinned, the others light-skinned. Only their eyes were visible; all were dressed entirely in black, wearing balaclavas, combat boots, each carrying a flashlight with infrared light. They were fully dressed in black, had electroshock weapons, large firearms, and a very thick rope with a knot in the middle. These men got into the minibus; the darker-skinned man also got into the back. There were three of them inside: two beat them, while the third drove. When all four got into the minibus, the daughter asked where they were being taken, and they replied, “to Belarus.” The daughter told the family this and asked for help, and they called her stupid for asking for asylum, then began beating them. They beat all four of them, severely beat the son, twisted his arms, struck his head many times, injured his mouth, broke his jaw, and left him lying there. Then they attacked the husband. The daughter went to help her brother; they stunned her with an electroshock weapon and struck her on the head. Then they grabbed the husband and beat him with an electroshock weapon and a rope. He tried to shield his face, which enraged the officers; they lifted him high and dropped him, beat him, and electroshocked him. She tried to touch her husband, but the officer sitting next to her struck her hard in the ribs with the rope and ordered her not to move. The husband tried to move, and she held him to keep him still. This lasted about 15 minutes inside the vehicle.

On 16 July 2024 at 1:50 p.m., in the Zarasai district municipality, Turmantas eldership, near Raipolė village, in the border area of the Republic of Lithuania, in a forest, 3 km from State Border Marker (SBM) No. 1791, within the area of operation of the Puškai Border Checkpoint of the Vilnius Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service, near the state border with the Republic of Belarus, persons were identified who had illegally crossed the state border of the Republic of Lithuania from the Republic of Belarus. They had identity documents with them.

On 17 July 2024 at 1:35 a.m., in the Ignalina district municipality, Rimšė eldership, near Čepukai village, approximately 20 m from SBM No. 1772, in the border area of the Republic of Lithuania, within the area of operation of the Puškai Border Checkpoint of the Vilnius Border Detachment, near the state border with the Republic of Belarus, the same persons were identified.

The applicants entered the territory of the Republic of Lithuania on 29 July 2024. The applicants were treated in medical institutions, where they were diagnosed with beatings, an eye injury, marks of torture by electric current and blunt objects, and severe bodily injuries, including fractures of ribs and arms, and fractures of the jaw.

A video recording entitled “export-fdit5” is examined. The duration of the video recording is 09:07. When the video is played, the following text appears on the screen: “Recording start: 2024 July 17, 03:07:29 end 2024 July 17, 03:16:27.” The video shows footage from inside a vehicle; music can be heard playing. It is visible that the person recording the video is driving the vehicle. At 01:00, the person is seen getting out of the vehicle, approaching the front door, opening it, and taking mobile phones and a bag. He then opens the rear door, where five persons are seen sitting in the passenger seats, and hands them the phones and the bag. The persons do not speak Lithuanian. In the video, the persons speak their own language (possibly Spanish), and communicate with the person recording the video in English.

The persons are escorted toward the fence and pass through the fence gate to the other side. No injuries are visible in the video.

**Transcript of the conversation:**

01:52 Okay, come, come.

02:01 Please.

02:03 Wait.

02:29 Will they push us back?

02:30 Did you bring us… Did you take us out of the country again?

02:31 Yes. You must go to an international border crossing point or an embassy and apply for asylum in the country. You are not allowed to cross the border illegally.

03:02 A doctor. Please. Hospital.

03:10 No, no.

03:17 Where are we going?

03:18 I’ll show you. Wait.

03:30 What if we went further?

03:33 So where can we go then?..

03:34 After that you can use a map application.

03:38 GPS.

03:40 Okay, thank you.

03:42 There is a road nearby, nearby in Belarus. Try it.

04:30 Be careful.

04:36 We have to go down.

05:15 Fell.

05:32 Can we go down?

05:34 The road ends here.

05:38 To the right.

05:40 Let’s see, have we already tried?

05:44 Wait. Don’t push.

05:45 Did I bump into you?

05:47 Hey, but we have to pass.

05:51 Wait, there are others.

05:52 Give me the backpack.

05:59 Along the entire border? Along the entire border there really is [something]?

06:13 Cross this.

06:17 No, no, to the right. Yes, yes, here. There is a road there.

06:20 Let’s go there.

06:23 Water?

06:29 Look, the yellow line…

06:32 No, no, I have to hold here, come.

06:46 Do you have a SIM card?

06:55 To get GPS or a taxi?

07:01 No, no, there will be no SIM. Go.

07:02 Damn it, we’re in trouble.

07:06 How can we communicate with you?

07:23 Go straight that way, then to the right.

07:29 Okay, we go straight here, then…

07:33 Let’s go!

07:36 Is my backpack there?

07:42 Here, hey, here!

07:45 Here?

07:47 Yes, and then to the right.

08:00 One SIM card? Please.

08:03 No, no, no. Go.

08:08 Go here, hey!

08:11 Yes, yes, better.

08:17 They say there is no sign here.

08:23 One SIM card, please?

08:25 Oh, no, no.