Interior Minister Eimutis Misiūnas thus added 21 names to the so-called “Magnitsky list”, thus bringing to 70 the total number of those on the blacklist.
Evelina Gudzinskaitė, the Migration Department’s director, confirmed to BNS that another 23 people would be banned entry over threats to national security starting on Monday.
“The decree has been signed. Another 21 surnames have been included. The list has gained legal force,” Misiūnas told BNS.
According to him, the names of the persons added to the blacklist will not be made public, as recommended by the Foreign Ministry.
Lithuania in January published the Magnitsky list of 49 Russian nationals banned entry over human rights violations and money laundering. The names of these Russians were made public.
Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said earlier on Monday that Lithuania had decided to expel three Russian diplomats, to add 21 people to the Magnitsky list and to recommend that the Migration Department ban entry to another 23 persons over threats to national security.
Lithuania, like other EU countries, is taking these steps in solidarity with Britain over the poisoning of a former Russian spy.