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According to the person, the mandatory solitary confinement procedure was more reminiscent of the detention, he was not provided information in understandable language and his requests for solitary confinement were not honored at the place of his choice. Worse still, the detainee was not provided enough food for eight days, so the agents of the State Border Guard Service had to buy food with their own funds, which is sympathetic to the starving person, ”says the Ombudsman’s Office. of the Seimas.
According to the Ombudsman of the Seimas, due to the actions of the border guards that lasted for eight days in relation to the absolute isolation of Belarus, it was not possible to make a timely decision on the permission to live in the chosen place and isolate it in place of designated premises.
“Without a doubt, during the investigation, we also drew the attention of the State Border Guard Service to the need to comply with the mandatory 24-hour deadline for initial asylum procedures. It is regrettable that in this case the deadline has been exceeded until seven times, ”he said in the report.
According to A. Normantas, the situation is reminiscent of an earlier study, which found that if people are not given an alternative way of isolating themselves at home, they may experience significant discomfort and stress undeservedly, which could amount to prohibited degrading treatment. .
He also pointed out that the Belarusian had been informed about his isolation only orally, even without ensuring that he understood the Lithuanian language and had not been familiar with the necessary and relevant information in a language that he understood.
“It was this that allowed the Seimas ombudsman to claim that the officials did not adequately inform the person about his mandatory isolation, which led the person to the misconception that he was detained by the officials, for which the person suffered many negative psychological experiences, “the report said.
Written requests from a Belarusian citizen were also found to have been answered by email, although they are required by law to respond to requests in the same way as they did.
In addition, the responses were provided in Lithuanian, although no information was provided that the foreigner understands.
The investigation also revealed that meals for Belarusians were not properly organized according to inadequate legal provisions, which provide meals only to asylum seekers detained for no more than 48 hours.
“After investigating that a person was given inappropriate food during isolation, we first tried to find out if the energy value of the food supplied could at least be equal to the food that the municipal administration had to organize. In fact, the doubts raised were reinforced by the goodwill and sympathy shown by the officials who supervised the Belarusian citizen, ”the report says.
According to A. Normantas, the border guards bought food for the isolated foreigner with their own funds and then made it possible for Lietuvos Caritas representatives to bring hot food.
After examining the situation, the Seimas Ombudsman drew the attention of the leadership of the State Border Guard Service to the fact that it is necessary to find out why food was not provided to the isolated person.
“It is also recommended that steps be taken to ensure that, in the future, the 24-hour deadline for initial asylum procedures is met and that people are informed of the necessary isolation in a sign language that they understand and respond to requests. in the form in which they were applied or that is specified in the application ”, states the institution’s statement.
