Published on 19 June 2023
FIRST SECTION
Applications nos. 15182/22 and 40833/22
A.A. and Others against Poland
and M.A. against Poland
lodged on 24 March 2022 and 12 August 2022 respectively
communicated on 30 May 2023
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE
The present two applications were lodged by six applicants, all Iraqi nationals, three of whom are minors. The cases concern the migration crisis on the Polish‑Belarusian border.
In November 2021 the applicants tried several times to enter Poland in an irregular manner. They complain under Article 3 alone and in conjunction with Article 13 of the Convention that the Polish authorities ignored their requests for international protection and that, instead, they pushed them back to the Belarusian side of the border. As a result, the applicants in case A.A. and Others v. Poland (no. 15182/22) were forced to stay in a Belarusian logistics centre near the Kuźnica-Bruzgi border checkpoint where living conditions were very basic. The applicant in case M.A. v. Poland (no. 40833/22) was stranded in Polish, Latvian and Belarusian border area.
They further allege a violation of Article 4 of Protocol No.4 to the Convention alone and in conjunction with Article 13, submitting that they were expelled from Polish territory without any formal decision or any decision against which they could effectively appeal.
On 21 March 2022 the applicants in case A.A. and Others v. Poland (no. 15182/22) managed to cross the border. They were apprehended by the Polish authorities and placed in a guarded centre for foreigners.
Between mid-December 2021 and end of February 2022 the applicant in case M.A. v. Poland (no. 40833/22) tried to cross the Latvian‑Belarusian border; he was pushed back on numerous occasions. On 13 April 2022 he crossed the Polish-Belarusian border and was pushed‑back. Subsequently, he accepted an offer of the Belarusian authorities and, on 6 May 2022, he flew back to Iraq.
Summaries of facts of the cases, as submitted by the applicants, are included in an appendix.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Do the facts relating to the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border of which the applicants complain fall within the jurisdiction of Poland?
2. If so, was the refusal of the Polish authorities to review the applicants’ applications for international protection in breach of Article 3 of the Convention? In particular, before deciding on their return, did the Polish authorities consider the applicants’ claims that they would be exposed to a risk of being subjected to inhuman treatment if returned to Belarus (see M.K. and Others v. Poland, nos. 40503/17 and 2 others, 23 July 2020, §§ 178‑182 and 185)?
3. In the light of the applicants’ allegations and the documents which have been submitted, would they face a real risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Article 3 of the Convention if returned to Belarus or Iraq?
4. Were the applicants, aliens in the respondent State, expelled as part of a collective measure, in breach of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 to the Convention? Reference is made to the applicants’ allegation that they were expelled from Polish territory without any formal decision or any decision against which they could effectively appeal and without consideration of their individual situation as aliens requesting international protection (see M.K. and Others v. Poland, cited above §§ 197‑209).
5. Did the applicants have at their disposal an effective domestic remedy for their complaints under Articles 3 of the Convention and Article 4 of Protocol No. 4, as required by Article 13 of the Convention? Reference is made to the applicants’ allegations that they were expelled from Polish territory without any formal decision or, in cases where decisions were issued, they were based on section 303b of the Aliens Act of 2013 and were immediately enforceable (see M.K. and Others v. Poland, cited above, §§ 147 and 219-220)
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APPENDIX
No.
Application no.
Case name
Lodged on
Applicant
Year of Birth
Nationality
Represented by
Summary of facts
1.
15182/22
A.A. and Others v. Poland
24/03/2022
A.A.
1988
Iraqi
I.A. 1994 Iraqi
M.A. 2017
Iraqi
M.A. 2014 Iraqi
M.A. 2022 Iraqi
Vadim DROZDOV
The applicants are a family, parents (the first and the second applicant) with three children. They belong to Yazidi minority. In Iraq they lived in a camp for internally displaced persons.
They arrived at the Polish – Belarusian Border on 05/11/21. They were pushed back by Polish officials on 10 and 15/11/21.
Between 16/11/21 and 21/03/22 the applicants stayed at a logistic centre organised by the Belarusian State. Living conditions there were very basic. On 28/01/22 the fifth applicant was born. Upon closure of the logistic centre, on 21/03/22, the applicants crossed the Polish border again. On the same day the first applicant was apprehended. On 23/03/22 the Bielsk Podlaski District Court placed him in guarded centre for foreigners.
On 24/03/2022 the remaining applicants were apprehended. On 25/03/22 the Bielsk Podlaski District Court placed them in guarded centre for foreigners.
On 25/03/22 the Court applied rule 39 of the Rules of Court. The interim measure was lifted on 21/04/22.
On 07/04/22 the applicants applied for international protection in Poland.
2.
40833/22
M.A. v. Poland
12/08/2022
M.A.
2001
Iraqi
Mikita MATSIUSH
CHANKAU
The applicant is Kurd. He was politically engaged in Iraq.
He arrived at Minsk on 01/11/2021. On 03/11/21 he crossed the Polish-Belarusian border for the first time. He claims that, within a month, Polish officials pushed him back about 20 times.
Between 07/12/21 and the end of February 2022 he stayed in the Lavtian-Belarusian border area.
At the end of February 2022, he managed to get to Minsk.
Later, he arrived at the Polish-Belarusian border again and tried to cross it several times. On 13/04/22 he received a decision obliging him to leave the territory of Poland (postanowienie o opuszczeniu terytorium Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), which was enforced immediately.
On 06/05/22, with the help of Belarusian authorities, he returned to Iraq.