The detention of migrants who crossed the border irregularly was unconstitutional, Lithuania’s Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday.
"The provisions of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens that require all asylum seekers to be accommodated in specified places without being granted the right to move freely within the territory of Lithuania, when such accommodation may last up to six months, run counter to the Lithuanian Constitution," said Gintaras Goda, president of the court.
The ruling comes in response to a complaint by an Iraqi national, who maintained that detention without a court’s ruling was illegal.
The asylum seeker was detained on July 31, 2021, after crossing the border irregularly and was detained at a registration centre from August 1, 2021, to February 3, 2022.
The Iraqi national said they were not told how long his detention would last or on what grounds.
Under the existing law in Lithuania, asylum seekers are temporarily accommodated at special centres without the right to free movement until the authorities decide whether to admit the person into the country.
In 2021, almost 4,200 migrants entered Lithuania irregularly from Belarus before the country adopted the policy of so-called pushbacks.
Those who entered the country were detained at the registration centres. Most of them, however, have been deported or left the country themselves.
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