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“We are closely monitoring the situation in Belarus and have prepared a plan of measures in case the number of Belarusian citizens requesting asylum in Lithuania increases. People who will apply for asylum and qualify for refugee status will receive such asylum in our country. ”, The minister is quoted in the report.
Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius announced at a press conference on Tuesday that Belarusian citizens have recently received asylum applications, but this “is not a mass phenomenon.”
“There are not a dozen, there are a certain number. It is not a mass phenomenon, but if people are in personal danger, we try to help them, ”said the Minister.
On Tuesday, R.Tamašunienė met with representatives of the Migration Department and the State Border Guard Service and the Police Department to discuss the situation in the neighboring country.
We are closely monitoring the situation in Belarus and have prepared a plan of measures in case the number of Belarusian citizens requesting asylum in Lithuania increases.
“For the first time, representatives of the Belarusian opposition are seeking asylum in Lithuania. And if this happens this time, both due to political circumstances and other possible threats, we are ready to help them until there is an opportunity to return home safely.” says R. Tamšunienė.
The Interior Ministry recalls that Lithuania has offered asylum to Ukrainian citizens after the events in Ukraine in 2014.
According to the established procedure in Lithuania, asylum can take two forms: refugee status and subsidiary protection. Refugee status is granted to an asylum seeker whose country is at risk of persecution due to their race, nationality, religion, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
Additional protection is granted to an asylum seeker who is not at risk of persecution for the stated reasons, but who is at risk of torture, death penalty or danger to liberty, health or life as a result of an ongoing war .
Asylum can only be granted to those for whom the aforementioned threats are identified.
Belarusian authorities announced Monday that President Alexander Lukashenko had won 80 percent of the vote. votes and was re-elected for another term, protests broke out in the country, which were severely repressed by the force structures. One person died and dozens were injured during the demonstrations.
Opposition candidate Sviatlana Cichanouskaya refused to acknowledge the results, declared herself the winner of the election and called on Lukashenko to hand over power.
Cichanouskaya’s security was raised on Monday night when she was trapped in the electoral commission for several hours, where she came to file a complaint for the falsification of results. For a time, his whereabouts were unknown.
On Tuesday morning it was announced that he had arrived in Lithuania under pressure from the Belarusian authorities.
According to the data of the Migration Department, more than 21,1 thousand people currently have a residence permit in Lithuania. Belarusian nationals, five of whom have obtained asylum.
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