Moment Lithuanian Border Guards Dump Unconscious Pregnant Woman On Belarusian Border
This video allegedly shows how Lithuanian border guards drag and dump an unconscious pregnant refugee on the border with Belarus so Lithuania does not have to deal with her.
The press service of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus issued a statement about the incident and shared the video on its website on Sunday, 8th August.
The video, reportedly filmed by a fellow countryman of the woman, allegedly shows how four Lithuanian border guards carry the woman by her limbs, leave her on the ground, and walk away.
According to the State Border Committee, the woman was part of a group of 10 refugees that included three children, and the incident took place at the Polesie border post.
In its statement, the State Border Committee described the act as “contrary to all laws and human values”.
It added: “This is nothing more than deliberately leaving a person in danger without the possibility of obtaining the necessary medical care.”
The State Border Committee reported that the woman and the three children were subsequently taken to hospital in the nearby Belarusian city of Pastavy.
Doctors at the hospital reported that the pregnant woman’s condition was serious, due to exhaustion. The health status of the children and the fate of the other refugees is unclear.
It is not clear which country the refugees had come from, though text on the phone of the man who filmed the incident appears in Arabic script.
According to Russian media, whose coverage of Lithuania is often hostile, the incident came just two days after the Lithuanian military took a group of over 30 people to the border without providing them with food, water, or warm clothes.
In contrast, earlier this week, Lithuania shared a video allegedly showing Belarusian border guards escorting illegal immigrants across the border into Lithuania, which they said was a retaliation against recent sanctions.
The Lithuanian authorities suspect Belarus of intentionally helping migrants, mostly from Iraq, cross into the EU after border footage was filmed from a helicopter by members of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on 1st August.
A Frontex spokesperson said a vehicle seen escorting the migrants across the border is commonly used by Belarusian border guards.
At the end of May, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that the government would no longer help Western nations control drug trafficking and illegal immigration on the border with Belarus in response to European sanctions.
According to reports, around 180 migrants, mostly Iraqis, were sent back to Belarus on 3rd August on orders of the Interior Ministry in Lithuania.
Border Guard Service chief Rustamas Liubajevas said: “Anyone who tries to enter Lithuanian territory illegally will be refused entry and directed to the nearest operational international border control point.”
The European Commission’s spokesman for migration, home affairs, and citizenship, Adalbert Jahnz, said on 3rd August: “The whole situation at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border is of concern to the EU.”
Jahnz also said that the Commission is cooperating with Iraqi authorities concerning the increased number of flights from the country to Belarus. Many passengers are believed to be among those trying to cross into the EU.
According to reports, over 4,000 migrants have been stopped at the Lithuanian border so far in 2021 compared to 81 last year.
Over two-thirds were from Iraq and apparently arrived in Belarus on the increased flights between Baghdad and Minsk.
Belarus is reportedly organising more direct flights from three other Iraqi cities including Basra.
