LONDON: Amnesty International warned of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and torture, by Latvian authorities "brutally" treating refugees and migrants trying to cross the border with Belarus.

Amnesty spoke to several Iraqi migrants who claimed to have experienced violence, including beatings and electric shocks.

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Eve Geddi, director of Amnesty International's European Institute office, said: "Latvia has given refugees and migrants a cruel ultimatum: accept to return 'voluntarily' to their country, or be stranded at the border, with detention, illegal return and facing torture." Their arbitrary detention at the border can sometimes be akin to a forced disappearance.

"The Latvian government has released men, women and children, often trapped in forests or locked up in tents, to fend for themselves in the subsurface temperatures.

They have been violently pushed back to Belarus, where they have no chance of finding security. These actions are a gross violation of international and EU law and have nothing to do with border security.

Amnesty International's findings come a year after Latvia implemented emergency measures to reduce the number of people crossing the border from Belarus.

According to the regulations, Latvian authorities can deny requests from newcomers for asylum, which is against both EU and international law.

Amnesty warned that the Latvian Guard, police and military officials are engaged in a deliberate policy to violently return refugees and asylum seekers to Belarus under a state of emergency, which has been continuously enhanced since its implementation. .

During a three-month period, Zaki, an Iraqi living on the Latvian border, claimed that he was refused entry more than 150 times.

Hassan, another Iraqi, said: "They made us fully clothed. Sometimes they took us off, beat us up, and then made us cross the border into Belarus in extreme cold. They warned us if we didn't cross. If so, they will shoot us. Throughout his trial, Hassan received several threats and the Latvian commandos said he would be killed if he returned.

A different person, Umar, claimed that an officer beat him up and forced him to sign paperwork for his return. Umar said, "He took my hand and said you should sign, and then by force, he got me to sign."

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Additionally, migrants were forcibly detained by Latvian authorities in improvised tents during the winter, where it can be as cold as -20 °C.

"We slept in the snow in the woods," Iraqi Adil told Amnesty International. There were wolves and bears, so we used to light a fire to stay warm. Additionally, Amnesty found that Latvian authorities often confiscated the cellphones of incoming refugees and asylum seekers.

The group issued a warning that using arbitrary custody along with a phone confiscation strategy could be tantamount to a deliberate policy of forcible disappearance.

According to Geddy, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland continue to engage in serious human rights violations under the guise of a "hybrid attack".

“As winter approaches and border activity intensifies again, a state of emergency allows Latvian authorities to forcibly deport people to Belarus.

Without independent oversight, many more people could be victims of abuses such as violence, arbitrary detention and other wrongdoings.

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"Latvia's shameful treatment of people coming through its borders presents an important test for European institutions. They must act quickly to ensure that Latvia lifts the state of emergency and to demand protection. restore the right of asylum to all the people who live there, wherever they come from or how they have entered the country."