Preliminary remarks (Read full CPT report) 88. In 2021, Lithuania faced an unprecedented influx of foreign nationals irregularly entering itsterritory through its land border with Belarus. Between May and mid-August, 4 110 persons wereapprehended by security forces in this context. 89. This influx of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants led to the Lithuanian governmentdeclaring an […]
European Union
Foreign nationals held under aliens legislation (from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2021 visit to Austria)
B. Foreign nationals held under aliens legislation; (Read full CPT report)37. The delegation carried out a follow-up visit to the police detention centre(Polizeianhaltezentrum – PAZ) at Vienna-Hernalser Gürtel in order to review the measures takenby the Austrian authorities to implement the recommendations made by the CPT after the previousvisit to the establishment.30 38. Although its […]
Oral Submission: Testimony on Lithuania’s Treatment of Migrants at the Border with Belarus at the UN Committee against Torture’s 72nd Session
The Human Rights Monitoring Institute and the Global Detention Project presented reports about mistreatment and disappearances of migrants and asylum seekers detained near the border with Belarus at the 72nd Session of the UN Committee against Torture. […]
Bulgaria: Covid-19 and Detention
In early November, Bulgarian authorities sent 350 additional military personnel to its border with Turkey because of concerns over increasing migration and refugee pressures. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry reported that during January-September 2021, more than 6,500 people were detained after entering the country irregularly. This was a threefold increase compared to the same period in […]
Poland: Covid-19 and Detention
The escalating crisis on the Belarus-Polish border has spurred a growing number of countries to accuse Belarus of weaponizing migrant and refugee movements, using them as pawns to destabilise the European Union. At the same time, there is growing international outrage over Poland’s response to the situation–as well as that of other countries that border […]
Belgium: Covid-19 and Detention
The Belgian NGO Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen reported that during 19-22 October 2021, between 60-150 asylum seekers were being denied access to the asylum registration procedure per day, and in consequence did not have access to reception. As reported on 11 August 2020 on this platform, many asylum seekers were sleeping rough after being released from detention. […]
Immigration Detention in Turkey: Trapped at the Crossroad Between Asia and Europe
With one of the world’s largest migration detention systems, Turkey has long served as Europe’s reluctant refugee gatekeeper. This role has repeatedly been put on display, including in the wake of the refugee “crisis” in 2015, which culminated in the adoption of the controversial EU-Turkey refugee deal; and, more recently, after the 2021 Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, which spurred Turkey to extend border walls and engage in often violent pushbacks of Afghan refugees. […]
Lithuania: Covid-19 and Detention
In July 2021, Lithuania accused Belarus of using vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers as political pawns in its ongoing spat with the EU by pushing them across the border into Lithuania and other neighbouring countries. The EU had previously imposed sanctions on Belarus in June over an “escalation of serious human rights violations and the […]
Greece: Covid-19 and Detention
On 18 September 2021, Greece opened the first of five new facilities to confine asylum seekers and migrants on the Island of Samos, close to the border with Turkey. Similar facilities are planned on the islands of Leros, Lesbos, Kos, and Chios. Fully funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union, […]
Poland: Covid-19 and Detention
Poland has experienced important reductions in the number of arriving asylum seekers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: in 2020, there were 2,803 asylum applications, compared with 4,096 in 2019. According to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, as of 1 January 2021, there were 1,319 persons holding valid residence cards for refugees, […]
