Sharp increases in the numbers of unauthorised border crossings from Slovakia into neighboring Czechia have led to tensions between the two countries. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger planned to meet with his Czech counterpart in Prague on 10 November to discuss Czechia’s introduction of border controls, which Slovakia claims may undermine Schengen freedom of movement […]
European Union
Transfer to Larnaca International Airport from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2022 visit to Cyprus)
Transfer to Larnaca International Airport; (Read full CPT report) 40. Transport of detained foreign nationals on the airport for removal purposes is governed by Police Regulation 5/4 of 4 February 2021 “on the transport of convicts”. Amongst other things, the Regulation stipulates that, as a rule, handcuffs must be used, that escorting police officers shall […]
Latvia: Covid-19 and Detention
Latvia has violently pushed back and arbitrarily detained scores of refugees and migrants, including children, in secretive tented camps along its border with Belarus, says a recently published Amnesty International report. The rights group contends that authorities have used undue force including torture to stop “illegal crossings” since declaring a state of emergency in mid-2021. […]
Spain: Covid-19 and Detention
The deaths of 37 migrants and asylum seekers in late June along the border fence separating the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco have spurred numerous protests across cities in both countries. Thousands of protestors gathered in Barcelona, Malaga, Vigo, San Sebastian, and Melilla to denounce migration policies as well as the militarisation of Spain’s […]
France: Covid-19 and Detention
In early June, France’s independent detention monitoring agency, the Contrôleur Général des lieux de Privation de Liberté (CGPL), released a report on its work, which heavily criticised operations at the country’s immigration detention centres (centres de rétention administrative or CRA), including highlighting critical problems with respect to COVID-19 measures. The CGPL report found that the […]
Immigration detention In Netherlands ( from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2022 visit to Netherlands)
1. Preliminary remarks ; (Read full CPT report) 49. In the course of the visit, the delegation visited all three closed immigration detention facilities in the Netherlands: it carried out follow-up visits to Rotterdam43 and Schiphol Detention Centres (DCs), and it conducted a first-time visit to the Closed Family Facility (Gesloten Gezinsvoorziening – GGV) at […]
Immigration detention in Latvia (from report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture 2022 visit to Latvia)
a. preliminary remarks; (Read full CPT report) 28. One of the objectives of the 2022 visit was to examine the situation of foreign nationalsdetained under aliens legislation. For this purpose, the delegation visited the country’s two dedicateddetention facilities for foreign nationals, namely Daugavpils Immigration Detention Centre and Mucenieki Immigration Detention Centre.12 Both centres are managed […]
TURKEY: Joint Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
As Turkey has stepped up immigration controls there have been increasing reports of human rights abuses in detention centres and in other sites along its borders. Women have been subjected to abuses and gender-specific violations, including reports of rape of refugee women in some removal centres as well as humiliating strip searches. […]
Denmark: Covid-19 and Detention
Denmark has entered talks with Rwanda to establish a deal similar to the controversial one Rwanda made with the United Kingdom in mid-April concerning the transfer of asylum seekers to the country. Denmark’s immigration minister said that the deal would “ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterises migration […]
Colombia: Covid-19 and Detention
Colombia hosts the largest number of Venezuelans outside Venezuela. According to the World Food Programme, there are some 1.8 million Venezuelans residing in Colombia and another 500,000 are expected to arrive in the coming months. By 2020, according to UNHCR, Colombia had 957 refugees, 19,933 asylum seekers, 8,252,788 internally displaced persons, and 1,729,537 Venezuelans “displaced […]
