Lithuania’s Sate Security Department explained why it treats work experience at Belarusian state enterprises as a threat factor

As a reminder, Lithuania is declaring Belarusian citizens a threat to national security en masse and expelling them from the country. A frequent ground for such a decision is the fact of having worked at a Belarusian state enterprise.

The media outlet Belsat reached out to Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) on this matter. Journalists asked officials to explain the criteria used to assess the potential danger posed by Belarusian citizens.

The VSD declined to disclose its methodology for assessing foreigners, calling it non-public information. But it did explain why past work or service in Belarusian state structures may be treated as a risk factor.

According to the agency, Belarus’s intelligence services build networks of recruited individuals in government institutions, law enforcement agencies, strategic sectors of the economy and the armed forces. Such people can be used for counterintelligence purposes and for gathering intelligence, if they have the opportunity to come into contact with foreign nationals or to travel abroad regularly.

The VSD is convinced that, by virtue of their previous service and ties to Belarusian state structures and officials, such people may be more inclined to carry out tasks for the intelligence services of their country of origin.

At the same time, in the VSD’s view, the requirement of loyalty applies to all employees of Belarusian state enterprises. Therefore, even a low-skilled position can be deemed a factor linked to a threat to Lithuania’s national security.

The agency also noted that intelligence services’ work with agents may be designed for the long term. Contacts can continue or resume even after a person has left state or military service, if new opportunities arise for them in the intelligence sphere. Blackmail and pressure on relatives in Belarus, including threats of dismissal or criminal prosecution, may be used to maintain these ties.

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