diff --git a/cmd/restic/lock.go b/cmd/restic/lock.go
index 72a818d9a..d267bc54e 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/lock.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/lock.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func lockRepository(repo *repository.Repository, exclusive bool) (*restic.Lock,
 
 	lock, err := lockFn(context.TODO(), repo)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Fatalf("unable to create lock in backend: %v", err)
+		return nil, errors.WithMessage(err, "unable to create lock in backend")
 	}
 	debug.Log("create lock %p (exclusive %v)", lock, exclusive)