A man, reportedly an asylum seeker from Syria, has been hospitalised after being shot by a Polish soldier after crossing the border from Belarus. Prosecutors have confirmed that the incident took place but say that indications so far are that it was an “unfortunate accident” caused by the soldier “tripping”.
Meanwhile, the dead body of another man, also believed to be Syrian, has been found nearby. There is no indication that the two incidents are related.
Activists say he is the 55th confirmed fatality during the crisis at the Belarus border, where tens of thousands of migrants and refugees have tried to cross since 2021 with the help of the Belarusian authorities.
Piotr Czaban, a humanitarian activist who extensively reports on the border crisis, first revealed on Saturday that a Syrian man had been shot, with “the bullet getting stuck in his spine”. He reported that the man had been taken to a hospital in Hajnówka, a town near the border.
Syrjczyk został trafiony w plecy. Kula utkwiła w kręgosłupie.
— Piotr Czaban (@CzabanPiotr) November 4, 2023
Today, Grupa Granica, an NGO that helps people who have crossed the border, announced that it was providing support to the 22-year-old man in hospital. They revealed that he is in stable condition while awaiting surgery on his spine, but that he faces the risk of paralysis.
The man told Grupa Granica that he was shot in the back after he had crossed the border with a group of other Syrians. After he fell to the ground, he says he then heard three more shots. Soldiers then arrived and called an ambulance. He now wants to apply for international protection in Poland.
Yesterday, Radosław Wiszenko from the regional prosecutor’s office in Białystok confirmed to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that an incident had taken place. PAP, which is a state media outlet, reported that it involved “the shooting of an illegal immigrant by a soldier near the border with Belarus”.
“According to the information provided to me, it was the result of an unfortunate accident, a soldier tripping,” Wiszenko told PAP. He confirmed that the migrant had been hospitalised and said that the military police were gathering evidence that would be handed over to prosecutors.
If charged with reckless handling of a firearm and involuntarily causing serious damage to health, the soldier could face from three to eight years in prison, depending on the severity of the injuries.
Żandarmeria Wojskowa wyjaśnia okoliczności postrzelenia migranta przez żołnierza#PAPInformacje ⤵️https://t.co/qfNFiJmotQ
— PAP (@PAPinformacje) November 5, 2023
According to the latest reports by the border guard, on Saturday alone 94 migrants tried to enter Poland from Belarus, while there have already been 24,000 attempted illegal crossings this year.
Activists have documented 55 cases of migrants and refugees dying as a result of the crisis on the border with Belarus. The body of the most recent victim, believed to be a 23-year-old Syrian, was found by the activists in Białowieża National Park on the same day as the shooting took place.
Police and prosecutors told PAP that they are currently seeking to confirm his identity and the circumstances of his death. But he is believed to be a Syrian man whom activists and the authorities had previously been searching for.
Syryjczyk, którego szukaliśmy od tygodnia odnaleziony martwy.
Nasza ekipa dzisiaj dotarła na miejsce. Tuż przed nami znaleźli go badacze przyrody.
Jest już policja.— Piotr Czaban (@CzabanPiotr) November 4, 2023
Since the beginning of the border crisis in 2021, Poland’s government has adopted a tough approach in response, including boosting soldier numbers in the area, building a physical and electronic barrier, and implementing a controversial policy of “pushing back” people across the border.
That has led to criticism from both local activists and international organisations, including the United Nations and Human Rights Watch. A number of Polish court rulings have found the pushbacks to be unlawful.
However, the government argues that it has taken justified measures to protect what is not only Poland’s, but also the EU’s and NATO’s eastern border. Its tough approach has received backing from Germany and the EU.
Poland’s government will show a “special clip” in cinemas before screenings of Green Border – a new Agnieszka Holland film depicting mistreatment of refugees – to inform viewers of the “many untruths” it contains https://t.co/1RNGi2qhnJ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 21, 2023
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Main image credit: Irek Dorozanski / DWOT (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
