Beyond the Border: Unlawful Return of a Hospitalised Asylum Seeker under Poland’s New Law
On 8 April 2025, our client, a 17 year old boy from Mali, was in hospital in Hajnówka. He requested asylum and we obtained emergency interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to require Poland to consider his asylum application and prohibit them from returning him to Belarus. Despite this, he was removed from hospital and forcibly returned to Belarus later the day, in violation of the court’s order.
The notable elements of this case are as follows:
A 17 year old boy from Mali was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Hajnówka in the morning of Tuesday 8 April, having spent 10 days in the forest.
He said he wanted to apply for asylum and so we were informed and immediately took a power of attorney to represent him. We informed the Border Guard that we were representing him, that he was an unaccompanied child, vulnerable and wanted to apply for asylum.
At 11.00, we were told that, as he did not have a passport, he had been taken to Białystok hospital for a bone x-ray to determine his age.
Given what had happened in the previous case, we were worried that this individual would also be quickly forcibly returned to Belarus.
In light of this concern, we lodged an application to the European Court of Human Rights for emergency interim measures under Rule 39, requesting that the Court prohibit Poland from deporting him so that his request for asylum could be considered.
We called the Border Guard again at 15.00 and were informed that he was being returned to Hajnówka from Białystok. They re-assured us and said that they would keep us updated. They did not inform us as to whether an age assessment had taken place or what the results were.
At 18.21, we received a positive decision from the European Court of Human Rights, accepting our request. The order from the Court stated that the individual should not be removed from Poland and his asylum claim should be assessed. This decision was sent by the Court to us and to a special department in the Polish Ministry of Justice who are obliged to inform the Border Guard.
We emailed the Border Guard a copy of the Court order to be certain they received. Unfortunately, they subsequently informed us that the individual had been deported at 18.40 (so, 20 minutes after the Court issued its order). The Border Guard said it had not seen the order and that it was now too late as “time cannot be turned back”.
We are continuing this case at the ECHR and, as part of this, the Polish authorities have provided their justification, namely that when they interviewed the individual he said he was 18 and was an economic migrant. However, this interview was done without his lawyer or anyone else present, despite us having informed the border guards that we were his legal representative. We have repeatedly asked for copies of the interview, the age assessment and their decision regarding this case but, so far, nothing has been provided.
