You're reading: Voice of America: European Rights Court urges Poland, Latvia to help migrants at Belarus border

Voice of America: European Rights Court urges Poland, Latvia to help migrants at Belarus border

Published Aug. 26, 2021 at 2:14 am

Barbed wire is seen on the border between Poland and Belarus not far from the small vilage of Usnarz Gorny near Bialystok, northeastern Poland, on August 20, 2021. - The fate of 32 migrants stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland is rapidly becoming a major headache for the Polish authorities, desperate not to show weakness in a stand-off with their authoritarian neighbour.

Photo by AFP

The European Court of Human Rights has asked Poland and Latvia to help dozens of migrants trapped at their respective borders with Belarus. Neither country is allowing the migrants in, and both Poland and the Baltic states have accused Belarus of using the migrants as a political tool for revenge, specifically over European Union sanctions imposed after the Belarusian government cracked down on protesters claiming an August 2020 presidential election was rigged.