DISINFO: Polish soldiers carried out mass executions of migrants at the Belarusian border
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: pl.sputniknews.com (archived)*
  • Date of publication: February 14, 2022
  • Article language(s): Polish
  • Reported in: Issue 272
  • Countries / regions discussed: Poland, Belarus
Tags:
Migration crisis migration Refugees War crimes Military

DISINFO: Polish soldiers carried out mass executions of migrants at the Belarusian border

SUMMARY

The Polish soldier testified that at the beginning, there were no signs that he and his companions would be forced to kill people. The soldier admitted that between 9 and 18 June 2021, he had been killing 20 persons each day at the border. The Polish soldiers did not talk about the killings between each other. Based on his data, between 200 and 700 people could have been killed in the mass executions. The places for execution were different each time. The soldiers received ammunition for their guns immediately before shooting at the migrants.

RESPONSE

Disinformation related to the migration situation at the EU - Belarus border.

Belarusian and Russian propaganda are using fake statements from a Polish deserter soldier Emil Czeczko, who makes groundless claims about “mass executions” of migrants in Poland.

In 2021, LithuaniaPoland and Latvia faced an influx of irregular migrants arriving via Belarus. Earlier, Belarus had terminated cooperation with the EU to stem illegal migration. This was Lukashenka's answer to the European Union sanctions against the political regime of Belarus (read more about sanctions here).

Belarus consistently accused its neighbouring countries of brutal behaviour toward migrants and violation of human rights. However, these accusations are not supported by facts. It is true that there were several tragic accidents near the border that caused the deaths of some migrants. At the end of 2021, the number of migrants that had died during this crisis ranged from 13 to 21 (see information here and here). In any case, nowhere near the numbers referred to in this article.

There is plenty of evidence that the Belarusian authorities have instigated the ongoing migration crisis in Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. Lukashenka's regime is using migrants from the Middle East as "political and hybrid" tools against Lithuania and the entire EU.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the situation on the EU-Belarusian border is not a bilateral issue of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus but a hybrid attack against the whole EU. The vice-president of the European Commission and high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy (HRVP) Josep Borrell stressed that responsibility for the migration crisis falls on the Lukashenka regime.

See related cases of disinformation: Lithuania and Poland should end their mockery of the migrantsA sea of unknown migrants’ graves is located at the Polish border and Polish Border Guards killed thousands of illegal migrants.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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