MSF calls for stopping migrant rejections at Belarus border
The NGO points its finger against Lithuania and Latvia for the treatment reserved to migrants who have been left in the cold, without food or water, at times with fatal consequences.
The NGO points its finger against Lithuania and Latvia for the treatment reserved to migrants who have been left in the cold, without food or water, at times with fatal consequences.
A third migrant has reportedly lost a limb after suffering frostbite at the Belarus-Lithuania border. That's according to Lithuanian authorities who confirmed they had to amputate an Egyptian man's leg on Thursday.
After Lithuania built a fence on its border with Belarus, the numbers of migrants crossing the border into the country, and therefore the EU, have reduced, say the authorities.
Latvia’s government has rejected accusations by the human rights organization Amnesty International that authorities mistreated migrants, including children, at its border with Belarus.
Following the Belarus-EU border crisis, thousands of asylum seekers entered Lithuania. A year later, many still remain in detention with little contact with the outside world. These are stories of several artists who are trying to create connection through their art.
InfoMigrants speaks to journalist Gabriela Ramírez about the detention of refugees in Lithuania and a creative project that seeks to help them cope with their situation.
Greece has confirmed that it will massively extend a steel fence at the Turkish border to prevent migrants from entering. But a similar wall between Lithuania and Belarus is reportedly being "deliberately damaged" to help migrants reach the EU.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has spoken against lengthy detention and systematic discrimination against migrants and asylum seekers in Lithuania and has urged that an end be put to these practices and that more humane alternatives be brought in without delay.
Latvia has extended a state of emergency along its border with Belarus. The move will allow border guards to continue sending back migrants who cross into the Baltic state.
Poland says it has observed a new migration trend along its border with Belarus. Officials say there is a rise in African nationals traveling first to Russia and then to Belarus in the hope of entering the EU using irregular means.
On Thursday the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Lithuanian national law, which allows an applicant for international protection to be denied the right to asylum and placed in automatic detention on the grounds that they have irregularly crossed the border, is incompatible with EU legislation.
Amnesty International has recorded accounts from asylum seekers "pushed" into Lithuania after being lured to Belarus under false pretenses. Some of the migrants were tortured and abused, the report said.