mutual trust

Asylum

Sąd Rejonowy w Hajnówce

Regional Court in Hajnówka

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Hearing scheduled for October/November 2024

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In a way - see case R.A. v. Poland available in the CJC database.

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Pushback – asylum – border violence – help for migrants – protection

The District Prosecutor's Office in Hajnówka has filed an indictment in court against five persons who provided humanitarian aid to an Iraqi family and an Egyptian citizen on the Polish-Belarusian border. The persons assisting are charged with the offence of facilitating unlawful stay in the Republic of Poland

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Polish Criminal Code art. 264a

The case dates back to March 2022, when the aid workers were detained and charged with organising the unlawful crossing of the Polish-Belarusian border. At the time, the prosecution demanded pre-trial detention, but neither the district court nor the regional court agreed.
After two years of proceedings, the prosecutor's office changed the charges brought against the activists.  One person was accused of providing food and clothing to persons who crossed the Polish-Belarusian border and allegedly provided the foreigners with information useful in case they were detained by Polish law enforcement authorities. This person is also accused of providing the foreigners with shelter. The other four persons were accused of transporting members of a migrant family "far into the country", when in fact the distance was shorter than twenty kilometers from the border.
According to the prosecution, the persons assisting met the statutory definition of the offence under Article 264a § 1 of the Penal Code, i.e. facilitating unlawful residence in the Republic of Poland. The prosecution claims that they acted intending to achieve a personal gain, not for themselves, but for the persons they were assisting. This offence is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years.
It should be noted that Article 264a of the Criminal Code implies that this offence can only be committed with the aim of ‘achieving a financial or personal gain’. Enabling or facilitating an unlawful stay, without the intention of achieving the purpose of a financial or personal gain, is not prohibited. It may be a matter of benefit to the person committing the offence or to another person, but it is difficult to accept that this other person could be the migrants themselves. In that case, any provision of assistance to a migrant would constitute a criminal offence and the content of this provision would make no sense.

Jarosław Gwizdak, INPRIS