Thread by @ChyLady

1/#FreeDetainedAfricanStudents There are African students still held in long term detention camps in Poland & Estonia since 27th February. Their basic freedom has been taken away, they are not free to leave, the conditions is now affecting their health @PolandMFA @MFAestonia

2/ One of the students said he did not understand the document he was asked to sign at the border, after signing, he was taken to detention, placed in handcuffs & taken to court a couple of days later. He did not understand the language or his offence. His smart phone was taken

3/and he was given a basic phone with no internet. His main communication channel is through a shared computer with the time which is restricted to about 20mins a day. The student said they are staying in caravans outdoors within the high security detention premises it’s cold

4/ They require urgent diplomatic intervention as they have been unjustly placed within a closed camp with limited contact with the outside world: they are only able to use one e-mail account, have limited access to phones. The conditions are bad and they are finding it difficult

5/ Some students have managed to submit appeals and thanks to an intervention by a volunteer Initiative onground they submitted a request to the Ombundsman’s office in Warsaw and an appeal was prepared against their further detention.

6/ We are unsure whether the detention camp enabled them to actually submit the appeal.They continue to require dedicated legal council and human rights aid. We now have lawyers for some of the students we aware of except one whose family organised a lawyer

7/I am working as part a team of grassroots volunteers on ground & volunteers from the different African diaspora organisations working to advocate on their behalf whilst communicating with our embassies working to release them.

8/ There are confirmed reports of 52 3rd country nationals held in the detention camp in Poland (of which 20 are Africans & we are in touch with 4 African students). We have not been able to obtain the contacts for the other students due to restrictions and controlled access.

9) I am aware of an African student detained at the border in Austria, he released after 2 weeks following legal intervention. His documents are with the detention centre. Also a family (father, mother 6months old baby) were detained in Poland for a few days but now released.

10/From the reports on ground, there are difficulties getting names of fleeing #AfricansinUkraine in detention centres due to high level security. We call on @AmnestyUK @Refugees @EURightsAgency to do an investigation & obtain the names from detention centres across EU

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