The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is examining complaints against Lithuania from Cuban, Syrian, and Iraqi citizens claiming that the country violated their right to asylum and restricted their freedom of movement.
Four Cuban nationals have complained to the Strasbourg Court that Lithuania refused to let them in, restricted their freedom, and failed to follow asylum procedures.
This court had previously granted interim measures of protection for the complainants, ordering Lithuania not to expel them in case they were within its borders.
According to a Ministry of Justice, the ECHR will seek to establish whether the applicants were actually present on Lithuanian territory during the period in question and could have lodged their asylum applications, and will assess whether Lithuania has violated the interim protection measures.
The ECHR will also examine whether the applicants were in fact expelled from Lithuania to Belarus, where there is no effective asylum procedure in place, and whether they were subjected to physical force, including electric shock, and the denial of medical and humanitarian assistance.
The Court will also assess whether Lithuania violated the article of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights prohibiting collective expulsion of foreigners.
The Cubans are also complaining to the Strasbourg Court that their freedom of movement has been restricted when they were placed in the Foreigners Registration Centre.
Two Iraqi and a Syrian national are also complaining to the ECHR about the restriction of their freedom of movement.
Last year, almost 4,200 migrants entered Lithuania irregularly from Belarus.
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