In response to the ongoing migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border, which began in the fall of 2021, the Suwałki District Prosecutor’s Office in northeastern Poland has taken charge of investigating the deaths of approximately thirty migrants found along the border over the past two and a half years, and determined the most likely cause of death being hypothermia.
Initially, regional prosecutor’s offices near the discovery sites started these investigations, but the Bialystok Regional Prosecutor's Office subsequently centralized these cases in Suwałki to streamline the process.
Wojciech Piktel, the spokesperson for the Suwałki Prosecutor’s Office, shared with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that several investigations have been concluded, revealing that the migrants succumbed to acute circulatory and respiratory failure, likely due to hypothermia, as the cause of death.
As of 2024, the trend of tragic deaths continues, with the recent discovery in mid-March of a migrant’s body in the Podlasie area. Documents found with the body identified him as a 32-year-old Pakistani.
The border crisis
Since 2021, Poland has been dealing with the migrant crisis orchestrated by the Belarusian regime, which led to thousands of people trying to illegally cross the border into Poland and, by extension, the European Union.
In response, the previous government built a physical barrier that was completed last year. It consists of a 5.5-meter-high fence of steel spans topped with razor wire, has a length of 186 kilometers, and is under continuous monitoring.
The physical barrier is accompanied by an electronic one, 206 kilometers long, equipped with 3,000 day-night and thermal imaging cameras, and 400 kilometers of detection cables.
However, despite the border barrier migrants still find ways to get around border protections, and are later exposed to extreme natural conditions in the vast forests surrounding the Polish-Belarusian border.
To aid migrants of unregulated legal status who lost their way in the forests, wetlands, and difficult-to-reach areas the Polish Border Guard has established several special intervention units to handle search and rescue operations for migrants who illegally cross into Polish territory through the Belarusian border.
The border guard has, however, also faced criticism for the practice of push-backs, which has raised concerns of human rights activists. There have also been voices calling into question the legality of the practice.
Wojciech Piktel, the spokesperson for the Suwałki Prosecutor’s Office, shared with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that several investigations have been concluded, revealing that the migrants succumbed to acute circulatory and respiratory failure, likely due to hypothermia, as the cause of death.
As of 2024, the trend of tragic deaths continues, with the recent discovery in mid-March of a migrant’s body in the Podlasie area. Documents found with the body identified him as a 32-year-old Pakistani.
The border crisis
Since 2021, Poland has been dealing with the migrant crisis orchestrated by the Belarusian regime, which led to thousands of people trying to illegally cross the border into Poland and, by extension, the European Union.
In response, the previous government built a physical barrier that was completed last year. It consists of a 5.5-meter-high fence of steel spans topped with razor wire, has a length of 186 kilometers, and is under continuous monitoring.
The physical barrier is accompanied by an electronic one, 206 kilometers long, equipped with 3,000 day-night and thermal imaging cameras, and 400 kilometers of detection cables.
Helping migrants in needW miniony weekend (15-17.03) na granicy z Białorusią🇧🇾odnotowano 248 prób nielegalnego przedostania się do Polski🇵🇱. pic.twitter.com/TtZduBaAy2
— Straż Graniczna (@Straz_Graniczna) March 18, 2024
However, despite the border barrier migrants still find ways to get around border protections, and are later exposed to extreme natural conditions in the vast forests surrounding the Polish-Belarusian border.
To aid migrants of unregulated legal status who lost their way in the forests, wetlands, and difficult-to-reach areas the Polish Border Guard has established several special intervention units to handle search and rescue operations for migrants who illegally cross into Polish territory through the Belarusian border.
The border guard has, however, also faced criticism for the practice of push-backs, which has raised concerns of human rights activists. There have also been voices calling into question the legality of the practice.
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