A Lithuanian citizen accidentally crossed Russia’s border was detained for 18 days. Russian authorities also interrogated him during this time, as reported by Lithuanian public media LRT.
The man found out that he had crossed into the territory of the Russian enclave – Kaliningrad – only when he noticed a border patrol. One of the officers was aggressive and threatened him.
«I just did what he said, I responded as much as I understood,» LRT was told by the man, who preferred to stay anonymous.
«At some point, I found the situation a bit absurd – how can he expect me [to be] some kind of spy or something, when I was just lost.»
The man, who was later hand-cuffed and detained by Russian border guards continues:
«These soldiers came from behind me with automatic rifles, with fingers on triggers, and they kept saying – ‘if you run, we will shoot you’.»
As he was being dragged away, the officers whispered to one another. The Lithuanian man says he feared they might shoot him in the back of the head. He was then blindfolded and put in solitary confinement.
While in detainment he was interrogated by an OMON officer, who asked him provocative questions, such as his opinion about the Russian-Ukrainian war and so on.
The man spend several days in solitary. He was then brought to a refugee centre, where he spent more than two weeks. There he was able to read, play chess and do sports. He was also allowed to use his mobile phone for an hour every day.
He remained detained in Russia for 18 days. With mediation from Vilnius he was successfully returned to Lithuania.
Commenting on this situation, Lithuanian State Border Guard Service’s spokesman Giedrius Mišutis mentioned such incidents took place in the past as well – mostly when people crossed over to Russian territory on water.
Lithuania and Russia share a small land border, but accidental border-crossing incidents «have taken place in multiple cases», said Mišutis, adding that in most cases those who accidentally crossed the border are able to return without incident.
It should be added, however, that upon their return to Lithuania, accidental border crossers still have to pay a fine for illegally crossing the state border.
The full article in English is available here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1793667/lithuanian-man-crosses-into-russia-by-accident-spends-18-days-in-detention