The Belarusian ruler Lukashenko is waging a hybrid war against the EU's external borders.
Now he could face a lawsuit before the criminal court.
Vilnius - In 2020, 37 irregular migrants arrived in Lithuania from Belarus.
A year later, according to state statistics, there were already 8,106 attempts to cross the Lithuanian-Belarusian state border - in 2022 there were even 10,599 attempted border crossings.
In view of these figures, Lithuania accuses the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of state smuggling of people and is considering filing a complaint with the International Court of Justice.
There is enough evidence, according to the Ministry of Justice of the Baltic EU and NATO country on Wednesday (April 5).
"Dictators have no immunity from international law": Justice Minister warns Lukashenko
The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko was accused of hybrid warfare against the EU even before the start of the Ukraine war.
He is said to have brought thousands of migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border since late summer 2021 in order to build up political pressure.
Along with Poland and Latvia, Lithuania is one of the affected countries and therefore intends to file a complaint with the International Court of Justice.
"We have enough evidence that the Belarusian regime has not only been deliberately pushing people into the territory of Lithuania for two years, but also taking measures to ensure that migrants can enter the territory of Lithuania," Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrovolska said, according to Lithuanian media on Wednesday .
“Dictators have no immunity from international law.
After Putin, it is now the turn of Lukashenko's regime to be held accountable," the minister continued.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March.
Lithuania could sue Belarus for €120 million in compensation
The Baltic NATO country sees a violation of the additional protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
First of all, they want to propose that the matter be settled through arbitration.
If Lukashenko does not agree to this, a complaint will be filed with the International Criminal Court and demand compensation of at least 120 million euros, the Ministry of Justice said.
The Lithuanian government approved the proposal on Wednesday.
Belarusian President Lukashenko is considered a close ally of Putin, also because of his country's strong economic dependence on Russia. The two countries are striving for a "union state".
According to a
secret document leaked by the
SZ , the Kremlin chief is said to have plans to annex Belarus by 2030.
Most recently, Lukashenko visited Moscow on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the Union State programs with Putin.
The stationing of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus was also one of the topics on the agenda.
