The Latvian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal case against officials of Belarus’ border service.
“On July 15, 2026, the Prosecutor General’s Office initiated criminal proceedings concerning the alleged criminal activities of officials of the border authorities of the Republic of Belarus. The criminal investigation will be conducted by the State Security Protection Division of the Prosecutor General’s Office,” the prosecution service said in a statement.
The case was opened on the basis of a complaint filed by the State Border Guard on July 13. It stated that “since August 2021, the State Border Guard has faced prolonged and systematic migratory pressure on the Latvian-Belarusian border, which should be assessed not as a series of attempts by individual third-country nationals to cross the border illegally, but as deliberate and systematic unlawful activities by a criminal organisation that includes officials of the border authorities of the Republic of Belarus, aimed at illegally moving large numbers of people across the state border of the Republic of Latvia with the intention of causing harm to the Republic of Latvia.”
The Prosecutor General’s Office said the complaint contains grounds to believe that an organisation has been established to deliberately cause harm by systematically undermining the work of Latvia’s border service, damaging border infrastructure and carrying out other activities.
“The initiation of criminal proceedings is an important step because it confirms that such actions are being assessed not as isolated border violations but as a potentially deliberate crime against the State of Latvia and its security,” the prosecution service added.
As part of the criminal proceedings, investigators will collect evidence that will retain its long-term evidentiary value and “may be used to bring those responsible to justice once a legal opportunity arises.”
In recent months, Latvia has faced the strongest migratory pressure among Belarus’ European Union neighbours. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of attempted illegal border crossings by migrants arriving from Belarus are recorded every day. At the same time, Polish and Lithuanian border guards have reported only relatively isolated incidents.
Earlier, Lithuania filed a case against Belarus before the International Court of Justice over what it says is Belarus’ use of migratory pressure.
It should also be noted that Belarus’ Investigative Committee opened criminal cases against officials from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania several years ago. They were charged under five articles of the Belarusian Criminal Code, including propaganda of war, crimes against the security of humanity, intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, abandonment in danger and murder. The cases are linked to the migration situation on the Belarus-EU border. Migrants, including those who died, have been recognised as victims in the proceedings.
