a. preliminary remarks; (Read full CPT report)
28. One of the objectives of the 2022 visit was to examine the situation of foreign nationals
detained under aliens legislation. For this purpose, the delegation visited the country’s two dedicated
detention facilities for foreign nationals, namely Daugavpils Immigration Detention Centre and Mucenieki Immigration Detention Centre.12 Both centres are managed by the State Border Guard (SBG), which is under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior.13 Daugavpils Immigration Detention Centre was visited by the CPT in 2011.14 Located in a two-storey building, the centre consists of three separated living units: for adult male asylum seekers, for adult male irregular migrants, and for women, families and unaccompanied minors. With a total capacity of 84 beds, the establishment was accommodating 30 foreign nationals (all adults) at the time of the visit, including 24 asylum seekers and six irregular migrants. While the latter had been held at the centre for only a few days, the asylum seekers had been detained for periods ranging from one to seven months (many of them initially as irregular migrants; see paragraph 47). Mucenieki Immigration Detention Centre, opened in 2017, is located some 20 km from Rīga, next door to an open reception centre for asylum seekers. The centre comprised two separate living units, one for male adults and another for women, families and unaccompanied minors, with a total capacity of 84 beds. On the first day of the delegation’s visit, the establishment was accommodating fifteen foreign nationals (including two unaccompanied minors),15 all of whom were asylum seekers.16 Most of them had arrived at the centre two to three months earlier.
29. The general legal framework governing the deprivation of liberty of foreign nationals under aliens legislation is set out in the 2003 Immigration Law and the 2015 Asylum Law. Pursuant to Section 54 (1) of the Immigration Law, a foreign national who is subject to removal, or to return based on a readmission agreement, may be detained by the SBG, on their own authority, for up to ten days, if there are grounds to believe that the person concerned will avoid or impede the removal proceedings or if a risk of absconding exists.17 Under Section 56 (1), foreign nationals should be informed at the moment of detention about their rights to appeal against the detention order, to contact the consular authorities of their country and to receive legal assistance. Detention beyond ten days must be authorised by a court, which may extend the detention period to up to two months (Section 54 (2)). If removal is not possible within this period, the foreign national’s detention may be
repeatedly extended up to a maximum period of six months and, under certain circumstances,18 up to 18 months. According to Sections 17 and 18 of the Asylum Law, an asylum seeker may be detained by the SBG, on their own authority, for up to six days; detention beyond this period requires a court decision.19 The detention of an asylum seeker, as authorised by the court, may be prolonged to up to two months, while the total period of detention may not exceed the total length of the asylum procedure (Section 19 (1)). The detaining SBG official draws up a detention order containing, inter alia, the reasons for detention as well as information about appeal procedures and the possibility to request free legal aid, one copy of which is given to the detained asylum seeker. The law also requires that this information be conveyed to the person concerned orally, in a language he/she understands or can reasonably be expected to understand (Section 17).
30. Section 9 (6) of the Asylum Law allows for the accommodation of unaccompanied minors in immigration detention centres. Further, Section 595 (1) of the Immigration Law provides that
unaccompanied minors aged over 14 shall be “accommodated in the relevant structural unit of the
State Police”. As indicated above, Mucenieki Immigration Detention Centre was holding two unaccompanied minors at the time of the delegation’s visit; both had stayed at the centre for
approximately three months. In this regard, the CPT wishes to stress that every effort should be made to avoid resorting to the deprivation of liberty of migrant children. As regards more specifically unaccompanied minors, given their particular vulnerability, they should not, as a rule, be held in an immigration detention facility.
The Committee recommends that the Latvian authorities take the necessary measures to ensure that unaccompanied minors are accommodated in an open (or semi-open) specialised establishment for juveniles (for example, a social welfare/educational institution) where they can be provided with appropriate care and activities suitable for their age; the relevant legal provisions should be amended accordingly.
31. In August 2021, Latvia started to experience a large influx of foreign nationals irregularly entering its territory through its border with Belarus.20 In response, the Latvian Government issued a decree on 10 August 2021 on the declaration of a state of emergency in the municipalities of Ludza,
Krāslava, Augšdaugava and Daugavpils.21 In particular, the decree authorised the border guards to instruct foreign nationals entering the country irregularly to return and, if necessary, to use physical force to expel them. It also enabled the National Armed Forces and the State Police to assist the SBG and to use force in order to prevent foreign nationals from crossing the border in an irregular manner.22 Further, the decree specified that, as a matter of principle, any asylum requests from such persons should not be accepted by border guards or other competent authorities based in the four administrative territories on the border with Belarus. For further details regarding the legal situation
of foreign nationals who entered Latvia after the introduction of the state of emergency, see paragraphs 46 to 48.
