VILNIUS: Lithuania’s parliament passed legislation on Tuesday to make it legal to deny entry to asylum seekers, the EU member’s latest move to fight illegal immigration from Belarus to the dismay of rights activists.

The Baltic state had already been engaging in so-called pushbacks since 2021, when thousands of migrants and refugees — mainly from the Middle East and Africa — began trying to enter the European Union via Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

The EU argued that the influx was a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by the Belarusian regime in retaliation for international sanctions against Minsk.

The number of attempted crossings has since fallen, but Lithuanian border guards still deny entry to hundreds of migrants a day.

“When it comes to national security and human rights, there are no easy solutions, but also there are no alternatives,” Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told journalists. “Our country must defend itself,” she added.

Bilotaite said authorities had information that Belarus was negotiating new direct flight routes to Minsk with Iran and Iraq, which suggested “possible new (migrant) flows”. “We have to be ready and we need instruments,” she said.

Last week, Amnesty International warned that the law would “green-light torture”.

The legislation still requires approval by the president and activists said they would call for a veto.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023