UN slams Czechs for ‘degrading’ detention of migrants

The United Nations rights chief on Thursday accused Czech authorities of systematically detaining migrants and refugees in “degrading” conditions, as part of a policy to dissuade them from entering the country.

Several European countries have in recent months introduced measures to curb the flow of tens of thousands of refugees and migrants on the move across the continent.

But UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said only the Czech Republic was routinely detaining them for 40 days, and in some cases reportedly up to 90 days, “in conditions which have been described as degrading.”

“According to credible reports from various sources, the violations of the human rights of migrants are neither isolated nor coincidental, but systematic,” he said in a statement, voicing particular concern over the violations of the rights of the children.

The abuses, he said “appear to be an integral part of a policy by the Czech Government designed to deter migrants and refugees from entering the country or staying there.”

More than 600,000 migrants and refugees, mainly fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, have braved the dangerous journey to Europe so far this year, according to UN numbers.

– ‘Suffered horrendously’ –

Zeid pointed out that “many of these people are refugees who have suffered horrendously in their countries of origin as well as during their journey to the Czech Republic.”

“International law is quite clear that immigration detention must be strictly a measure of last resort,” he said, stressing especially that “detention of children on the sole basis of their migration status, or that of their parents, is a violation, is never in their best interests, and is not justifiable.”

Zeid expressed concern that the Czech authorities were continuing with the detentions even after those detainees who had managed to challenge their detention in court had been released.

He pointed out that most of the migrants and refugees were not in a position to quickly bring their case to court, since they lack information about free legal aid and because refugee interest organisations were receiving only very restricted access to detention facilities.

The UN rights chief also expressed concern over the conditions in detention facilities, particularly Bila-Jezova, some 80 kilometres north of Prague, pointing out that Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan himself had described the facility as being “worse than in a prison.”

He pointed to a report by Anna Sabatova, an independent rights official tasked with monitoring the government, indicating that parents were being treated in a degrading way in front of their children.

At the time she filed her report earlier this month, Bela-Jazova was hosting about 400 adults and 100 children.

Zeid also pointed to “credible reports” that migrants were routinely being strip-searched by authorities looking to confiscate money to pay the approximately $10-per-day fee each person is charged during their detention.

“The fact that people are being forced to pay for their own detention is particularly reprehensible,” he said.

The fact that the detentions were taking place at the same time as xenophobic public discourse was on the rise was of great concern, Zeid said, pointing among other things to repeated islamophobic statements by President Milos Zeman.