“Detention of Laimanas was prepared during his last visit to Belarus”
Tatiana, the wife of the commander of Vilnius mounted constabulary Laimanas Bankauskas, has told ERB how her husband looked like right after the release, why she got to know about his return to Lithuania from journalists and why he was not detained on the Belarusian border earlier. ERB: Do you know your husband came back to Lithuania several hours ago? Have you talked to him?
Tatiana: Journalists informed me he had returned. They know even more than I do. I have not contacted him yet: Laimanas phone is switched off and he is not home yet.
ERB: Can you tell us what your first reaction to his detention at the Belarusian border was?
Tatiana: I was shocked! I know my husband very well and I know he could not be engaged in anything like that. I am 100% sure of it!
ERB: Do you mean he could neither be involved in drug trafficking nor consumption?
Tatiana: God forbid! He is a policeman to the marrow of his bones and will retire in several years! You could laugh, but he is still a little boy playing a policeman. It is not a game for him, it is his life. I could not admit that there was a 0.01, 0.001 or even a 0.001 chance he was guilty.
ERB: Why could the Belarusian security agencies be interested in your husband? Did he have any conflicts with Belarusian frontier guards?
Tatiana: There were no conflicts until recently. Until it had been put on him stealthily.
ERB: Could he detain a Belarusian official of high rank in Lithuania for some infringement? Maybe it’s revenge.
Tatiana: It could happen, I do not really know. You should look through cases. You see, he is a policeman and he detained people. However, his work has been peaceful lately. He joined the mounted constabulary and this is a different kind of a job. I do not know where he could get such enemies.
ERB: Did you feel the support of the Lithuanian government and the administration of the department where Laimanas worked after he had been detained?
Tatiana: The support was all-round. Thank them all very much. They did not even admit the possibility he was guilty. They know him very well and probably analyzed everything that had happened with the help of reasoning rather than emotions like I did as a woman.
ERB: Could you tell us if Laimanas had any problems at the Belarusian border before?
Tatiana: He was detained when he was crossing the border on August 3. He said it fell like they were waiting for something. As if they wanted to do it at that time but probably they had not received the drug then. I think that a least a third of this scenario was ready at that time.
ERB: Aren’t you afraid you may encounter problems at the border if you decide to visit Belarus now?
Tatiana: You know, I returned from Belarus yesterday. I was in Hrodna when Laimanas was released and I crossed the border - thank goodness…
ERB: Did you meet him was he was leaving the confinement cell? Did he tell you how he had been treated during the arrest?
Tatiana: I did. But he did not tell me anything like that. You know, there were a lot of emotions, a lot of words – about nothing. Secondly, Belarusians had not prepared the documents he needed to leave Belarus. He was released at the end of the work day. As far as I understand, he was delayed there so that they cold prepared it all. To prepare all the documents so that he could leave Belarus for Lithuania.
ERB: How does Laimanas look like, has he lost weight?
Tatiana: He has, he is thin and hungry. But there are no bruises. At least, not on his face. I brought him sandwiches. He looked at cucumbers and asked for tomatoes! But I did not see him eat.
Let us remind you that Laimanas Bankauskas was detained in Ashmyany on August 16. 45.5 grams of amphetamine was found on him. Bankauskas was suspected of having violated article #228 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (smuggling) and article #108 of the Criminal Code of Practice (detention on suspicion of a crime). The Lithuanian policeman was delivered to Hrodna confinement cell. He was released on the evening of August 25. Bankauskas kept pleading not guilty all the time.
Tatiana: Journalists informed me he had returned. They know even more than I do. I have not contacted him yet: Laimanas phone is switched off and he is not home yet.
ERB: Can you tell us what your first reaction to his detention at the Belarusian border was?
Tatiana: I was shocked! I know my husband very well and I know he could not be engaged in anything like that. I am 100% sure of it!
ERB: Do you mean he could neither be involved in drug trafficking nor consumption?
Tatiana: God forbid! He is a policeman to the marrow of his bones and will retire in several years! You could laugh, but he is still a little boy playing a policeman. It is not a game for him, it is his life. I could not admit that there was a 0.01, 0.001 or even a 0.001 chance he was guilty.
ERB: Why could the Belarusian security agencies be interested in your husband? Did he have any conflicts with Belarusian frontier guards?
Tatiana: There were no conflicts until recently. Until it had been put on him stealthily.
ERB: Could he detain a Belarusian official of high rank in Lithuania for some infringement? Maybe it’s revenge.
Tatiana: It could happen, I do not really know. You should look through cases. You see, he is a policeman and he detained people. However, his work has been peaceful lately. He joined the mounted constabulary and this is a different kind of a job. I do not know where he could get such enemies.
ERB: Did you feel the support of the Lithuanian government and the administration of the department where Laimanas worked after he had been detained?
Tatiana: The support was all-round. Thank them all very much. They did not even admit the possibility he was guilty. They know him very well and probably analyzed everything that had happened with the help of reasoning rather than emotions like I did as a woman.
ERB: Could you tell us if Laimanas had any problems at the Belarusian border before?
Tatiana: He was detained when he was crossing the border on August 3. He said it fell like they were waiting for something. As if they wanted to do it at that time but probably they had not received the drug then. I think that a least a third of this scenario was ready at that time.
ERB: Aren’t you afraid you may encounter problems at the border if you decide to visit Belarus now?
Tatiana: You know, I returned from Belarus yesterday. I was in Hrodna when Laimanas was released and I crossed the border - thank goodness…
ERB: Did you meet him was he was leaving the confinement cell? Did he tell you how he had been treated during the arrest?
Tatiana: I did. But he did not tell me anything like that. You know, there were a lot of emotions, a lot of words – about nothing. Secondly, Belarusians had not prepared the documents he needed to leave Belarus. He was released at the end of the work day. As far as I understand, he was delayed there so that they cold prepared it all. To prepare all the documents so that he could leave Belarus for Lithuania.
ERB: How does Laimanas look like, has he lost weight?
Tatiana: He has, he is thin and hungry. But there are no bruises. At least, not on his face. I brought him sandwiches. He looked at cucumbers and asked for tomatoes! But I did not see him eat.
Let us remind you that Laimanas Bankauskas was detained in Ashmyany on August 16. 45.5 grams of amphetamine was found on him. Bankauskas was suspected of having violated article #228 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (smuggling) and article #108 of the Criminal Code of Practice (detention on suspicion of a crime). The Lithuanian policeman was delivered to Hrodna confinement cell. He was released on the evening of August 25. Bankauskas kept pleading not guilty all the time.
