„We are aware of the situation and it is concerning. In my assessment, the Belarusian regime has moved to kidnapping Lithuanian citizens without any reason,“ Jauniškis said.
In June, media reported that a Minsk court sentenced Lithuanian woman Elena Ramanauskienė for alleged spying and imprisoned her for six years. Taking into account Minsk’s actions, the VSD director urges Lithuanians not to travel to Belarus.
„This case is a serious indication that the Belarusian regime is determined to kidnap Lithuanian citizens. The Lithuanian government will likely take certain measures and react,“ he said. „They kidnap citizens on trumped up charges, sentence people based on this and imprison them. These are very worrying tendencies,“ said Jauniškis, adding that people should seriously weigh potential consequences of travelling to Belarus.
As reported, Belarus detained Ramanauskienė over alleged espionage, she was tried behind closed doors and a six-year imprisonment sentence was handed down.
She had worked at the sanatorium Belarus, in Druskininkai, Lithuania. The Belarusian state claimed that she had been recruited by Lithuanian intelligence services.
Earlier, the sanatorium’s chief doctor Andrey Kobel was sentenced in Belarus for treason, for alleged cooperation with the VSD, and imprisoned for 9 years.
The Lithuanian-based sanatorium was owned by the Belarusian presidential administration until 2021. Afterwards, on the orders of Alexander Lukashenko, its ownership was transferred to Republican Centre for Health Improvement and Sanatorium Treatment of the Population of Belarus.
In 2024, Lithuania annulled the residence permit for the sanatorium’s former director Ilya Epifanov.