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A.I. and Others v Poland – 39028/17

Country Poland
Status FINAL
Court ECtHR
Relevant Law Article 3, 13, Article 4 Protocol 4
Year 2022
Found for Applicant

The case concerns the summary expulsion of Russian Chechen asylum applicants to Belarus at Polish-Belarusian borders. The applicants crossed the border thirteen times at Terespol border crossing and requested asylum. Border guards refused to receive asylum applications and summarily expelled the applicants to Belarus, exposing the applicants to a risk of chain-refoulment to country of origin and inhuman and degrading treatment and torture. The Court found the state failed to ensure the applicants safety by allowing them on the territory for the period pending an application for international protection. The Court also found there was a lack of effective remedy by which to lodge complaints with the domestic authorities.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that the refusal and subsequent return to Belarus violated Article 3 and Article 4 of Protocol No. 4, while the denial of an effective remedy contravened Article 13.