The Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia (PPA) announced on Sunday evening that they had temporarily closed a border crossing point in southeastern Estonia. The crossing point was subsequently reopened. The PPA clarified that this measure was taken at the Luhamaa crossing point, in Võru County, after two Iranian citizens repeatedly tried to enter Estonia without having the right of residence, according to err.ee.
“Today, we closed the Luhamaa border crossing point earlier than usual. Throughout the day (Sunday – ed.), two Iranian citizens repeatedly tried to enter Estonia from Russia, through the Luhamaa crossing point. However, they had no right to cross the border, as both had destroyed their travel documents immediately upon arrival from Russian territory,” announced the PPA.
The two continued to try to cross the border after they were sent back and after the Russian authorities were informed about their actions.
“We have informed the Russian authorities about the incident, however, Iranian citizens were allowed to continue their attempts to enter Estonia. Therefore, we have temporarily closed the Luhamaa border crossing point. The crossing point will remain closed until the Russian Federation resolves the situation on its side,” the PPA continued in the statement.
The border patrol staff issued entry bans to the two individuals, a man and a woman, to Estonia and returned them to the Russian Federation.
Luhamaa and the other crossing points of the Estonian border with the Russian Federation are only open between 07:00 and 19:00. PPA closed the crossing point a few hours earlier than the usual closing time, on Sunday.