Sienos Grupė

The person entered the territory of the Republic of Lithuania on 23 October 2023 in the Ignalina district, barefoot and with frostbitten feet.

When the person first attempted to cross the border of the Republic of Lithuania, officers of the State Border Guard Service of the Republic of Lithuania, upon a group of persons approaching the physical barrier on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, ordered them to return to the neighboring state (“Go back”), without assessing the individual condition of the person.

Upon crossing the border for the second time, the person was admitted into the Republic of Lithuania. With frostbitten limbs, the person was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a university hospital. He underwent surgical intervention during which both legs were amputated.

During the clarification of the circumstances, the following was established:

When questioned, the witness stated that in the summer months of 2023 he arrived in the region together with a group of persons, including refugees. He had cash with him. They crossed the border area and wandered without knowing where they were going. Then someone struck him on the back of the head. He woke up at night alone; his money was gone, and his shoes and jacket had been stolen. He walked alone, not knowing where he was. He was then detained by local officers and taken to a tent where there were male and female officers. In the tent he was beaten, but not severely. There his mobile phone was also taken away. Later, several more persons arrived and they were put into a vehicle. When boarding the vehicle, he was simply pushed and fell onto a sharp object, injuring his jaw. They were taken to gates that were opened and were told to go to the neighboring state. In that state, their group was detained and again taken to the border.

He walked through the forest with a group of five persons when they were again detained by officers and taken back to the tent, where they were beaten severely. When he complained that his legs hurt, someone brought a stick and beat him on the legs. He could no longer stand, fell down, and was then beaten with an electric baton. He was then lifted, thrown into a vehicle, and again taken to the border. He entered the country twice and was returned twice. The second time he was returned, officers took him to a large hangar where there were more than 100 people, divided into groups. Then his group was put into a vehicle, driven for about two hours, taken to a fence, which an officer cut open and told them to go to Lithuania.

The person crawled through the fence into Lithuanian territory, but after approximately two minutes Lithuanian officers arrived and, after giving him water, told him to go back. This was on 22 October 2023. He does not know the exact place where he attempted to cross the border. The Lithuanian officers behaved politely and did not beat him. The foreigners simply said that they wanted to get to Lithuania, but the officers said “no.” There was no further conversation.

After returning to the neighboring state, they were again detained by officers and taken to an uninhabited building. Early in the morning, they were again taken to the Lithuanian border. By that time, the person could no longer walk and crawled using his elbows. An officer again cut the fence and ordered them to go. After approximately 10–15 minutes, Lithuanian officers arrived. Those who had health problems were separated, and he does not know what happened to those who were healthy. One of the officers asked what was wrong with him. He showed his legs, and the officer grabbed his head. An ambulance was called, but the medics could not reach that location, so the officers carried him into a police vehicle, as he could not walk on his own, and drove him to the ambulance. However, the medics said he could not be transferred from the vehicle, so he was taken to the hospital in the police car.

In total, he wandered through border forests for 14 days. He cannot indicate specific locations or officers.

With one person whom he met in the Belarusian forest, they arrived in the Belarusian forest together and stayed together the entire time. In October 2023, he does not recall the exact date, after wandering in the forests for approximately 18–20 days, a group of persons (14 people in total) was taken by Belarusian officers to the Lithuanian border, where officers cut the protective fence and ordered them to go to Lithuania. The entire group crawled through the fence. Lithuanian officers arrived very quickly and, after giving each person a bag with food and water, ordered them to return to Belarus. Everyone complained of being exhausted and cried. One person was without shoes, wearing only socks; his legs hurt, but he walked on his own. During the first attempt to cross the Lithuanian border, he did not show his legs to the Lithuanian officers, because the entire group was immediately returned to Belarus.

The following day, the entire group was again taken by Belarusian officers to the Lithuanian border, the fence was cut, and they were ordered to go into Lithuanian territory. The entire group crawled through the fence. Upon the arrival of Lithuanian officers, several persons were admitted into Lithuania, including one person from the said group, another individual, and several other adult women. The remaining seven persons were returned to Belarus, including the said person. An ambulance was called for those who were admitted. After the medics examined the condition of the admitted persons, the said women and men were also pushed back to Belarus.