EU states ‘not properly investigating’ reports of rights violations at borders

Authorities in EU member states are not doing enough to investigate credible reports of violations of human rights, including deaths, on their borders, an EU human rights body has said.

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) said human rights agencies and NGOs were reporting “serious, recurrent and widespread rights violations against migrants and refugees during border management” but despite “credible” reports many were not investigated.

An increasing number of cases are going to the European court of human rights, raising questions about border management in at least three countries, it said.

“National authorities in Greece, Croatia and Hungary did not effectively investigate incidents of ill treatment and loss of life during border management.

“Examples include insufficient efforts to locate and hear victims and witnesses, hindering lawyers in their work and not having access to key evidence (eg footage from border surveillance).”

Greece’s migration policies have been in the spotlight since the Adriana, an overcrowded fishing boat, sank in June last year with the loss of an estimated 500-650 lives.

The FRA cited five examples highlighting what it considered a flawed approach to loss of life and allegations of violence across Europe’s frontier states. In one of the most egregious cases, it cited the discovery of an unaccompanied child who was found unconscious with a fractured skull and swollen lip in France by volunteers.

The child had been apprehended by police after hiding in a truck destined for the UK. The case, and allegations of possible police involvement, was reported to the public prosecutor in Boulogne-sur-Mer but the child could not be found later.

In 2020, the Croatian police intercepted four Afghans who entered the country irregularly. According to the rights agency, they were held for two days, humiliated and beaten. The incident is being investigated but according to the victims’ lawyer the perpetrators have not been identified.

In April 2020, Maltese authorities instructed a fishing vessel to take a boat in distress back to Libya. In six days at sea 12 people died or went missing. A magistrate concluded there was no prima facie evidence for criminal charges, the FRA said.

In June 2022, two Palestinians recognised by Greece as refugees were allegedly subjected to physical and sexual abuse and abandoned on a life raft at sea after being stopped by police in Kos. The Turkish coastguard rescued them and an official complaint is still pending before the Greek public prosecutor.

The FRA director, Sirpa Rautio, said: “There are too many allegations of human rights violations at the EU’s borders. Europe has a duty to treat everyone at the borders fairly, respectfully and in full compliance with human rights law.”

The agency has drawn up a 10-point plan including regular guidance and training for local prosecutors and investigators on how to protect victims and how to collect and preserve evidence, including mobile phone data.

Facilitation of victims’ participation in criminal proceedings and their protection was paramount, the report said.

The report added: “Investigative authorities should request records of border surveillance and body cameras, global position systems, records of patrol cars and officers’ phones”.