Фото: saeima.lv
On October 29, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, passed amendments to the State Border Guard Law and the Criminal Procedure Law in their final reading, expanding border guards’ powers to protect border infrastructure from hybrid attacks.
Under the amendments, border guards will be allowed to use physical force, hand-to-hand combat techniques, special equipment and firearms, as well as service dogs, to repel attacks on protected border guard facilities and state border infrastructure. In cases where it is impossible to issue a warning before using a firearm, border guards will be allowed to use it without warning. Previously, the law did not explicitly provide for such powers to repel attacks on these facilities.
Raimonds Bergmanis, chair of the Saeima Defence Committee, said that protecting the state border and border infrastructure was important for Latvia’s territorial integrity. According to him, the amendments will enable border guards to respond swiftly to violations and protect the country’s security.
“A hybrid war is currently being waged along the country’s external border. The inviolability of the state border and the protection of its infrastructure are essential components of Latvia’s territorial integrity. By adopting these legislative amendments, we are strengthening the ability of border guards to respond swiftly to violations and protect Latvia’s security,” he stressed.
The law also stipulates that if a person is injured or killed as a result of the use of firearms, the State Border Guard must immediately notify the prosecutor’s office, but no later than within 24 hours.
The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law stipulate that crimes committed by border guards while performing their duties under an enhanced border protection regime will be investigated by authorised officials of the State Border Guard.
The decision to expand the powers to use force follows an incident on the Belarusian-Latvian border in early October, when masked individuals drove a group of migrants towards the border and threatened Latvian border guards with an object resembling a firearm. The masked individuals then entered Latvian territory, damaged a distribution cabinet, stole surveillance cameras and fled to Belarus before Latvian border guards arrived.
A little-known group called the Black Rusyns later claimed responsibility for the incident. Latvia’s State Security Service launched criminal proceedings over the alleged creation of a criminal organisation.