The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Chamber has announced the transfer of jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber regarding a case involving 32 Afghan refugees at the Poland-Belarus border. These individuals allege that they were unlawfully pushed back by Polish border authorities after attempting to enter Poland from Belarus.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Afghan nationals claim they fled their homeland and first crossed into Poland from Belarus in August 2021. They were reportedly pushed back and subsequently set up camp under what have been described as problematic sanitary and humanitarian conditions. In October 2021, some members of the group made another attempt to re-enter Poland but were again returned to Belarus by Polish police.
The refugees argue that they have been denied access to asylum and face potential inhuman or degrading treatment if sent back to Afghanistan, a direct violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). They further contend that they may be subjected to chain refoulement to Belarus, contravening the principle of non-refoulement stipulated in Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The applicants also claim that they were collectively expelled from Poland without an effective remedy, invoking Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR, which prohibits collective expulsion, in conjunction with Article 13 of the ECHR.
In August 2021, the ECtHR Chamber granted an interim measure directing Poland to provide essential supplies and temporary shelter. While this measure did not require Poland to admit the applicants, it was extended on September 27, 2021, with further instructions for Poland to refrain from returning the refugees to Belarus if they were on Polish soil.
The decision to transfer the case to the Grand Chamber underscores the serious questions about the interpretation of the ECHR and possible conflicts with earlier decisions. Similar cases have highlighted the predicament of migrants trapped at the Poland-Belarus border, with claims of migrant weaponization by Belarus, as in a previous case involving Iraqi nationals.