Over the past few months, the number of illegal migrants trying to enter the EU through our country has been growing. Against this background, Poland is going to strengthen the fence erected on the border with Belarus. Meanwhile, trials of guides, who help migrants to get into the EU, are almost invisibly held in our country. They risk their health and freedom for money. The editorial staff of Hrodna.life has studied the court rulings on such migration.
All names are invented for the convenience of the reader. In the court decisions they are anonymous.
The migrant crisis on the border with the EU erupted in 2021. European countries accused the authorities of Belarus and Russia. The result was the strengthening of the border and the closure of many checkpoints. There are still human casualties among migrants. Since the fall of 2023 the number of foreigners went down, and since March 2024 it increased again.
In 2022, the trials of those who helped migrants began. They were tried in Kamyanets, Brest, Braslav, Zhabinka, Postavy, Kobrin, Pruzhany, Minsk, Dokshitsy and Verkhnedvinsk. The guides helped migrants who were going to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine — so it follows from the bank of court decisions. The sentences ranged from three years of «home chemistry» to four and a half years in a penal colony. Sometimes the courts applied a deferment. In total, about 30 people were tried. None of the appeals were satisfied.
Now Belarusian propaganda uses the case with migrants to show the «inhuman» attitude of the authorities of European countries to them.
They did not understand the route and walked to the border for several days without food
Czeslaw and Shamil are natives of a foreign country (which one — the bank of court decisions does not say). Czeslaw is unemployed. It is not said whether they have residence permits in Belarus.
Czeslaw agreed to be a guide for Iranian citizens with the organizers of migration. One of these people was tried in a separate session, the others have not been identified yet. Czeslaw was promised $ 300 for each foreigner, a total of $ 3,000. Shamil — the same amount.
Shamil received a metal shovel and groceries in a Belarusian town. He took the migrants from his apartment and went with them to the border. On the route, they were joined by Czeslaw, who was handed two rebar shears. Unknown drivers dropped the group off near a forest near a village in Hrodna district. Czeslaw and Shamil led the 10 foreigners to the Belarusian-Polish border along the route laid out.
The guys did not figure out the route in the forest, so they did not get to the border immediately — several days later. They and the migrants ran out of food and drink. They slept on the ground in the forest. Later, the men would also be accused that the conditions posed a danger to them and degraded their dignity.
Finally Czeslaw and Shamil came to the border fence and made a shovel dig under the fence, which was under alarm. Three Iraqis refused to go with them through the manhole and left. For the remaining seven, rebar shears were used to damage another signaling system. But the group was apprehended by members of Troop 2141. This happened on September 30 — probably 2022.
Czeslaw pleaded guilty. He said that he committed the crime because he needed money. The same thing was told by Shamil. On March 17, 2023 Hrodna District Court sentenced each to 3.5 years of imprisonment with a fine of 100 basic units (3,700 rubles) each. Czeslaw’s cell phone was confiscated. The amnesty on the occasion of People’s Unity Day reduced their sentences by one year each.
Confiscation of «earnings» and appeal against the court decision
Andrei, Egor and Konstantin are citizens of Belarus. All of yours are unemployed. All of them, except Konstantin, have minor children.
Andrei said that in April (probably 2023 — Hrodna.life) he received a message from an unknown Russian number. It turned out to be from «his relatives» from Afghanistan. He called back on WhatsApp. «Brothers» asked to meet him in a Belarusian city — probably Minsk. They told him how bad life was for them in Afghanistan. They asked him if he knew anyone who could help them cross the border between Belarus and the European Union.
Andrei asked Egor and Konstantin about it while he was sitting with them in a cafe. Konstantin replied that he might be able to help. Andrei gave the Afghans his number. Andrei «sympathized» with the Afghans, asked the men to rent them a house and gave 200 rubles to Egor for this. Egor and Konstantin found cab drivers to the border for 50 rubles. While they were looking for them, they brought the Afghans food and stoked the stove.
Konstantin led the foreigners to the border for two hours. Andrei was to meet them on Lithuanian territory. When they climbed over the fence around midnight, the alarm group of the border outpost received a signal. They found the tracks and sent a service dog to follow them. The men were found and detained. Konstantin was drunk. The man admitted that they were illegally crossing the border, and he was acting as a guide. They were taken to the border commandant’s office.
After detention, the Afghans told that they lived in Belarus at the same address. A few days later, they found a «group of refugees» from Afghanistan on WhatsApp. There they wrote that they needed to get to Europe. A stranger responded and gave them Konstantin’s number with Belarusian citizenship. They communicated with him via Google translator in WhatsApp. Konstantin wrote that he would help them get to Europe and for this they would have to pay him $ 6,000 each. Konstantin moved them to another apartment, where they stayed for two or three days, and then to a house. The foreigners handed over a $ 1000 advance payment each.
The court believes that Andrei directed the illegal migration and wanted to receive $ 6,000. «Colleagues» also expected to receive money. The amount was not specified, but the guys understood that Andrei would not «offend» them.
The sentence was passed on August 24, 2023 in Astravets District Court. Andrei was sentenced to three years and seven months in a reinforced regime colony with a fine of 130 basic units (Br4,810). Yegor — three years in a reinforced regime colony with a fine of 100 basic units (Br3,700). Konstantin — three years in a reinforced regime colony with a fine of 80 basic units (Br2,960). The «earned» money was confiscated. Andrei’s wife claimed that the money, found on him, was a common savings for her heart surgery. The man told about it in the appeal. He claimed that he had been falsely accused. The court did not believe him.
What is the current situation at the border as seen by activists?
The editorial board of Hrodna.life analyzed the information of Polish activists who help migrants. According to them, now mainly migrants from Syria and Yemen are traveling through Belarus. They report that the Polish side, as a rule, sends migrants back to Belarus. Volunteers also report cases of failure to provide medical care to those in need — for example, when a girl fell from the fence. Border guards have also found human remains.
One of the border crossers was sent back to Belarus 16 times, said activist Petr Chaban. If the volunteers are the first to find a migrant, they call the border guards, and the registration procedures begin. This happens because activists immediately submit written applications for international protection in Poland — and foreigners are sent to border checkpoints, and from there — to detention centers.
Piotr mentions cases of deception — a Polish border guard took money from a migrant for food and drink, but gave her nothing. In general, the rates are € 20 for a bottle of water, an orange and three bananas. Cigarettes cost the same. There are those who help for free. The volunteers keep silent about how the migrants got to the border and how much they paid for it.
«The main thing is to get there normally»
The driver Ian is a foreigner with a residence permit in Belarus. He is a father of two young children and unemployed. The man agreed to become a guide and help four Sri Lankan citizens to get illegally from Belarus to the EU countries. Yan was contacted by a stranger (who it was, it was never established) and sent him the coordinates, where to pick up the foreigners. In court, Yan said that he used to give rides to people and hand out business cards, so he was not surprised when he was written to Telegram and asked for a favor. True, he couldn’t do it himself, so he asked another driver.
The foreigners said that a certain S. told them that he would organize travel to the European Union through his connections in Belarus. He threw them screenshots of maps with the route to the border and correspondence with the «accomplice. It turned out to be Jan. He met them at a parking lot near a shopping and entertainment center in a Belarusian city — probably Minsk.
Jan picked up the man and three women at 16.30 and took them to a gas station on the M6 highway in Grodno region. He bought them water (according to the foreigners — juice and beer) and waited for the driver Alexander. The Sri Lankans gave him $ 350. Later, the foreigners will tell that when they met, Yan put large metal tongs in the car of an acquaintance.
Alexander was on his way out and Jan was sending him messages with coordinates and calling him. «That's good for us, we can’t see who’s there, what’s there. The main thing is to get there normally, to be told that they drove us from the bottom of their hearts,» he said. Alexander had to pull off the road, drop off the Lankans, tell them «Come on, run», hug them and wish them good luck. And also to take $ 350 and € 90.
But at 9:30 p.m., the driver and the migrants were stopped by border guards at the border zone near a village (probably Benyakoni in the Voronovsky district). They checked the documents — only Alexander had a passport. Yan advised saying that they would stop at a gas station and drive back. But the border guards noticed wire-cutting scissors and tattered student ID cards in the car. They called a panic team, which detained them. The foreigners confirmed that they had paid Alexander money for a ride to the border, showed him the route of the border crossing and the points on the territory of Lithuania where they were to arrive on foot. Alexander’s further fate is unknown — he probably remained at large.
After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the border, Jan was again contacted by a stranger and asked to give three Lankans a ride there. Alexander refused Jan’s offer. The man suggested Georgi. He agreed and drove the migrants to a village in the Ostrovets district. The man was given € 530 and $ 65, and later sentenced. The three migrants were detained on the way to the border, while Georgi was tried for illegal migration — separately from Jan.
Jan insisted that he wanted to help his compatriot to earn money in a cab and did not receive any money. But it turned out that he had been bugged. The law enforcers overheard Yan discussing with a Russian citizen in Azerbaijani the detention of their acquaintance. The man was «caught with a tool». Jan was worried that «they would go as accomplices, that there was nothing they could do to help him, that he could go to jail, and he was in trouble».
The man was sentenced on July 15, 2022 in the court of Ostrowiecki district.
Jan was sentenced under Part 2 of Article 371−1 of the Criminal Code to 4.5 years in a reinforced regime colony with a fine of 200 basic units (6400 rubles) and recovery of $ 350.
«'Go-Go' and they will go away»
Garik was a university student, he came from Turkmenistan. He had financial problems. The guy contacted a Turk to borrow money. He did not lend money, but said that Garik would be contacted on WhatsApp. There he really got a call from a stranger and said that there were 10 Syrians, who should be escorted to the border of Belarus and Poland. For this he was to be paid $ 2,000.
Garik arrived in Minsk at the specified place. There he was called by a Mercedes driver. It was Belarusian Pavel. Garik sat in the back seat with three Syrians. Next to the driver was another migrant. Pavel moved. Another car with Syrians followed them.
Pavel had his own version of events in court. The man said that he saw a message in Telegram that 10 people had to be delivered to Hrodna. He called another driver and offered to earn money — to deliver passengers for $ 250. The other driver took six people, Pavel — four. All the passengers were of «Arab appearance». The driver collected the money from the Syrians.
Pavel brought everyone to a point that was marked on his phone. Pavel then pointed out the direction of travel with his hand and drove away. Garik drove the group towards the border. Another driver, who was a witness, said that he had to tell the Arabs «Go-Go» and they would leave. So he did. After the delivery, according to Paul, the passengers «went somewhere.» Pavel kept $ 150 for himself.
Garik went to the wire fence, opened his bag, which contained groceries, cigarettes, wire cutters, and a shovel. He and the Syrians made a dig and ended up behind the fence. The alarm went off. The dog picked up the trail. Garik and the Syrians were detained 120 meters north of the border marker 636 of the border between Belarus and Poland. Later in the appeal, the lawyer will say that he was deceived — he was told that Belarus had no border.
Garik pleaded guilty. Pavel disagreed with the fact that he had facilitated migration. They were sentenced to 3.5 years of high-security colony with a fine of 100 basic units (Br4,000) on March 12 in Hrodna district court. Three cell phones and a car were confiscated. Garik heard the verdict from a Turkmen interpreter. The appeal was not satisfied.