30
juillet
2024

Guidance on investigating alleged ill-treatment at borders

Fundamental rights violations on the EU’s land and sea borders often go unreported. Investigations into these violations need to be more effective. This report gathers examples of alleged rights violations of migrants and refugees between 2020 and 2023. It sets out 10 steps to promote prompt and effective national investigations into incidents of ill-treatment at borders.

As highlighted in section 3.5 European Court of Human Rights, as of 1 January 2024, there were 31 communicated cases pending adjudication that entail alleged ill-treatment at the EU’s external borders. The examples are grouped by Member State.

  • ECtHR, S. B.v Croatia and 2 other applications, No 18810/19, 25 May 2020 (summary return to Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2018 and alleged inhumane treatment).
  • ECtHR, M. A. and Z. R. v Cyprus, No 39090/20, 16 May 2022 (summary return to Lebanon of two Syrians allegedly seeking asylum following the interception of their boat and alleged ill-treatment by the coastguards while on the boat).
  • ECtHR, Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v Greece, Nos 22776/18 and 27/01/2021, 15 February 2021 (Iraqi who died after being hit by a bullet in 2015 when the coastguards tried to stop smugglers who were bringing a boatload of people to Greece).
  • ECtHR, S. A. A. and Others v Greece, No 22146/21, 20 December 2021 (summary return and ill-treatment of a group of Syrians from Crete to Türkiye).
  • ECtHR, Wasim ABONAHI v Greece, No 22920/16, 18 September 2023 (delayed rescue on Samos island, leading to the death of a woman and two children).
  • ECtHR, M. A. v Greece, No 42429/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion by land).
  • ECtHR, K. K. and 17 other cases v Greece, Nos 1712/21, 2871/21, 3104/21, 3111/21, 3118/21, 4159/21, 16807/21, 16811/21, 16813/21, 16815/21, 16817/21, 16818/21, 16820/21, 16822/21, 16824/21, 16825/21, 16828/21 and 16831/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion at sea).
  • ECtHR, G. R. J. v Greece and A. A. J. & H. J. v Greece, Nos 15067/21 and 24982/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion at sea).
  • ECtHR, F. C. and 4 other cases v Greece, Nos 10258/21, 10692/21, 12807/21, 12926/21 and 13134/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion by land).
  • ECtHR, A. D. and A. E. v Greece, Nos 4034/21 and 15783/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion by land).
  • ECtHR, S. G. and S. R. v Greece, Nos 6923/21 and 16802/21, 20 December 2021 (ill-treatment during summary expulsion by land).
  • ECtHR, Khurram v Hungary, No 12625/17, 13 November 2017 (summary expulsion in 2016 over the border fence to Hungary and ill-treatment).
  • ECtHR, H. Q. v Hungary, No 46084/2, 24 October 2022 (Afghan national who was in Hungary, applied for asylum and was redirected in 2021 to the Hungarian Embassy in Serbia, where he had not been before and who was left without any assistance at the border).
  • ECtHR, Z. A. v Hungary, No 40185/22, 27 March 2023 (summary return from a hospital to Serbia of a 16-year-old).
  • ECtHR, A. S. A. v Hungary, No 53952/22, 3 July 2023 (removal of a Syrian to Serbia after release from hospital).
  • ECtHR, S. S. and others v Italy, No 21660/18, 26 June 2019 (search-and-rescue event coordinated by Italy that led to abuses by Libyan coastguards).
  • ECtHR, H. M. M. and Others v Latvia, No 42165/21, 23 May 2022 (Iraqi Kurds stranded in the border forests with Belarus in August 2021 without access to food, water, shelter or medical assistance).
  • ECtHR, S. S. v Latvia, No 15408/23, 30 October 2023 (violent and repeated summary returns to Belarus).
  • ECtHR, M. A. and Others v Latvia, No 1134/23, 6 November 2023 (violent and repeated summary returns to Belarus).
  • ECtHR, C. O. C. G. and Others v Lithuania, No 17764/22, 19 December 2022 (summary return of a group of Cubans to Belarus accompanied by alleged ill-treatment).
  • ECtHR, A. S. and Others v Lithuania, No 44205/21, 17 July 2023 (summary return to Belarus that put the applicants in a life-threatening situation, as they were stranded in the border area going back and forth, without food, drinking water or shelter, and had to sleep in a forest in the cold under open sky).
  • ECtHR, K. A. and M. A. and Others v Poland, Nos 52405/21 and 53402/21, 20 June 2022 (Syrians stranded at the Belarus border without food, water or medical assistance in 2021).
  • ECtHR, F. A. and S. H. v Poland, No 54862/21, 11 July 2022 (Afghans stranded in the border forest area without food, water or shelter and in harsh weather conditions).
  • ECtHR, R. A. and others v Poland, No 42120/21, 18 October 2021 (violent summary return of Afghans stranded at the Belarus border).
  • ECtHR, H. K. and Others v Poland, No 12752/22, 22 May 2023 (Syrians stranded in the border forests in harsh weather conditions without food, water or shelter and their summary returns to Belarus).
  • ECtHR, A. A. and Others v Poland, No 48018/21, 24 April 2023 (summary return to Belarus, leaving the applicants stranded in the border forest area).
  • ECtHR, T. Z. and R. Z. v Poland, No 61103/21, 24 April 2023 (applicants stranded in the border forest area and their summary return to Belarus, in two cases involving violence).
  • ECtHR, I. A. and Others v Poland, No 53181/21, 24 April 2023 (summary return to Belarus, leaving the applicants, including 10 children, stranded in the border forest area).
  • ECtHR, M. A. v Poland, No 51241/22, 24 April 2023 (people stranded in the forest area without basic amenities and their summary expulsion to Belarus, in two cases involving ill-treatment).
  • ECtHR, A. S. v Poland, No 15318/22, 24 April 2023 (Syrian summarily returned to Belarus, who remained stranded in the border forest area without basic amenities).
  • ECtHR, M. M. and Others v Poland, No 2509/22, 24 April 2023 (summary expulsion to Belarus, in one case involving violence, leaving the applicants stranded in the border forest area).