Refugee told about his brother’s death in Latvia after being beaten by security forces

A refugee has been beaten to death by Latvian law enforcement officers. On the border with Latvia Belarusian border guards found the brother of the deceased man, who told the details of the accident – as reported by the State Border Committee of Belarus in its Telegram channel.

Video by State Border Committee of Belarus

The Belarusian border department specified that on the night of December 12th-13th, border guards found a refugee on the border with Latvia. The man explained that he was on Latvian territory and wanted to get to Germany. After being detained by the Latvian police, he was taken to the forest and left on the border with Belarus. The refugee also said that he was in Latvia with his brother. However, he died in a Latvian hospital, where he was taken after being beaten by the police.

The State Border Committee also noted that on November 13th, the human rights organisation Amnesty International published a report – Latvia: Return Home or Never Leave the Woods – which contains facts of repeated human rights violations.