Its Parliament Lithuania today passed a law allowing border guards to bring back migrants who cross the border illegally, ignoring the concerns of human rights groups.

Lithuania, Poland and Latvia have been reporting since 2021 a sharp increase in the number of migrants arriving from countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan trying to cross their borders from Belarus. The three countries and Brussels described the situation as a form of hybrid war aimed at putting pressure on the European Union in connection with the sanctions it imposes on Minsk.

Lithuanian border guards have already returned migrants in accordance with the August 2021 government decree, which has now become law.

“In this geopolitical context, we have no alternative: we must defend ourselves, and for this we need tools,” Interior Minister Agne Bilotayte told Parliament.

The legislation includes provisions under which immigrants caught illegally entering the country will be deported on the decision of the head of the local border patrol without appeal.

Critics such as Amnesty International argue that the law could result in the denial of asylum to people in need of protection.

“I constantly receive disturbing reports of violence and other human rights violations against migrants, including detentions at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border,” Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović said in a statement.