March 28, Pozirk. Third-country foreigners attempting to cross into the European Union from Belarus face pushbacks and violence on both sides of the border, says a report by the Oxfam and Egala rights groups.
Testimonies of people who have crossed into Poland suggest extremely unsafe conditions in Belarus, says the report entitled “Brutal Barriers.”
In Belarus, people are at times detained in camps or forced to create makeshift camps in the forest. “Many are consequently gathered by uniformed personnel and coerced to cross the border at specific points. . . . People on the move report being prevented by Belarusian forces from leaving the border region or returning to the capital, Minsk, meaning they have no option to escape the cycle of violence in the Sistema, except by attempting to cross into Poland.”
“The policy of pushbacks, together with extensive border fortifications on the Polish side – including a five-m-high border fence topped with razor wire – can trap people in the border area, an area known as the Sistema or ‘death zone,’ for days, weeks or even months,” the report stressed.
“Both those detained in camps and those apprehended by Belarusian forces in the forest report being subjected to violence and extortion, as well as deprivation and confiscation of water, food and shelter,” the report reads.
Foreigners who have managed to return to Minsk said they had to pay bribes up to €5,000 to officers to be able to do so, which is an exorbitant amount for many of them. In June, several witnesses said they saw Belarusian officers breaking a man’s arm for saying he wanted to return to Minsk.
The nonprofits documented accounts of theft or extortion of property, threats with firearms, psychological humiliation, beatings, use of dogs to threaten or injure people, torture, including waterboarding and electrocution.
“Women and girls face particularly extreme risks, with significant reports of sexual abuse by Belarusian forces, including rape and gang rape,” rights defenders stressed.
The report also noted a lack of systemic humanitarian response from Poland, criticizing recent changes in Polish legislation, which have expanded the possibility of using force against people attempting irregular crossings.
The flow of people desperate to get to the EU surged in spring 2021 after Alaksandar Łukašenka, angered by EU sanctions, had indicated that Minsk would not prevent asylum seekers from Africa and Asia from using Belarus as a route to the EU.
Belarus’ western neighbors call the migration crisis a “hybrid attack” orchestrated by Minsk and Moscow.
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