The ECtHR aadopted interim measures in two cases concerning recent events at the borders of Poland and Latvia with Belarus.

The Court requested the Polish and Latvian authorities to provide all the applicants with food, water, clothing, adequate medical care and, if possible, temporary shelter.  The measure will apply for a period of three weeks from 25 August until 15 September 2021 inclusive.

The applicants are stranded at the borders because they want to enter either Latvia or Poland, reportedly willing to apply for international protection, but they are unable to enter these States or to return to Belarus (which is not a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights).

The applicants in Amiri and Others are 32 Afghan nationals and are currently at the border between Poland and Belarus whereas the applicants in Ahmed and Others are 41 Kurdish-ethnic Iraqi nationals, currently at the border between Latvia and Belarus.

In both cases, the applicants complained before the Court of a potential violation of Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR and Article 4 of Protocol no. 4 and complained of being denied to enter in the respective countries. The applicants in both cases are requesting legal assistance, access to basic material conditions (food and hygiene), not to be returned to Belarus and to access international protection in the Contracting States. 

Furthermore, with regard to application no 42120/21, on 27 September 2021 the ECtHR decided to extend the interim measure until further notice. According to the court's press release of 28 September 2021, "the Court decided to request the Polish Government, for the purpose of the proceedings before the Court, to allow the applicants’ lawyers to make necessary contact with them by either allowing direct contact between the applicants and their lawyers, provided that the information submitted by the applicants’ representative is accurate and the applicants are on the Polish territory, or allowing the applicant’s lawyers access to the Polish border next to the applicant’s whereabouts. Lastly, the Court decided to indicate to the Polish Government that the applicants should not be sent to Belarus, provided that the information submitted by the applicants’ representative is accurate, and the applicants are on Polish territory."

In application no. 42165/21 against Latvia, the Court decided to lift the interim measure as some of the applicants had been admitted onto Latvian territory and the other applicants no longer appeared to be at or near the border zone.