CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 17 novembre 2021

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sD4B5322E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; text-align:justify } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s97EB40D9 { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s8B6C6D43 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } Legal summary June 2024 R.A. and Others v. Poland (relinquishment) - 42120/21   Article 3 Expulsion Allegations by Afghan nationals of risk of being subjected to treatment in breach of Convention in Afghanistan if sent to Belarus, on account of chain refoulement : relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber   Allegations of no access to asylum procedures: relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber   Inhuman or degrading treatment   Allegations of poor material and sanitary conditions in makeshift camp on border between Belarus and Poland: relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber Article 13 Effective remedy Alleged lack of effective remedy for complaints concerning collective expulsion of Afghan nationals to Belarus on Polish border: relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber Article 34 Hinder the exercise of the right of application Victim Alleged non-compliance with interim measure indicated by Court under Rule   39, asking not to send applicants back to Belarus: relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 Prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens Allegations of collective expulsion of Afghan nationals to Belarus on Polish border: relinquishment in favour of the Grand Chamber The applicants, thirty-two Afghan nationals, say that they crossed the “green” border between Belarus and Poland around 8   August 2021 before being forcibly pushed back to Belarus by the Polish police. They were then left stranded for approximately two months in a makeshift camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in problematic sanitary and humanitarian conditions. The applicants allege that their claims for asylum in Poland were not considered. On 25   August 2021 the Court applied Rule   39 of its Rules of Court and indicated that the Polish Government had to provide the applicants with humanitarian aid and adequate medical assistance. On 27   September 2021 the Court extended this interim measure until further notice. It also indicated two new interim measures to the Government, asking them (i)   to allow the applicants’ lawyers to make necessary contact with them, for the purpose of the proceedings before the Court; and (ii)   not to send the applicants to Belarus, provided that they were actually on Polish territory. On 20   October 2021, out of desperation, seventeen of the thirty-two applicants crossed the barbed wire fence along the Belarusian-Polish border. They were allegedly then apprehended by the Polish police, who took them to the border crossing and sent them back to Belarus. Relying on Article   3 of the Convention, the applicants complain (1)   of having been deprived by the Polish authorities of access to asylum procedures; (2)   of being exposed to the risk, if returned to Afghanistan, of treatment in breach of the Convention and, if sent to Belarus, of chain refoulement ; (3)   about their material and sanitary conditions; and (4)   of the failure by Poland to apply the interim measures indicated by the Court. Relying on Article   4 of Protocol No.   4 and on Article   13 taken together with Article   3 of the Convention and Article   4 of Protocol No.   4, the applicants further complain that they have been subjected to a collective expulsion and that no effective remedy has been available to them, respectively. Lastly, under Article   34 of the Convention, they complain of the failure by Poland to apply the interim measures indicated by the Court. On 25   June 2024 a Chamber of the Court relinquished jurisdiction in favour of the Grand Chamber.   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. To access legal summaries in English or French click here . For non-official translations into other languages click here .