ECHR receives complaints from Cuban, Syrian, Iraqi citizens against Lithuania

VILNIUS - The European Court of Human Rights is looking into complaints received from Cuban, Syrian and Iraqi citizens over the denial of entry to Lithuania and the restriction of their freedom of movement.

Four Cuban citizens have turned to the Strasbourg-based court over Lithuania's refusal to let them in, as well as over the restriction of their freedom, and asylum procedures.

Earlier, the court introduced interim measures in these persons' cases, meaning that Lithuania was ordered not to expel them if they were found within its territory.

The Lithuanian Justice Ministry says, the ECHR will look into whether the applicants were actually present within Lithuania's territory during the period in question and could have lodged their asylum applications. The court will also assess whether Lithuania has violated the interim measures.

The ECHR will also examine whether the applicants were in fact pushed out of Lithuania to Belarus where there's no effective asylum system in place, and whether they were subjected to physical force, including the use of Tasers, and were denied medical and humanitarian assistance. 

The court will also assess whether the article of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights on collective expulsion of aliens was not violated in this case.

The Cubans also complained to the Strasbourg court over the restriction of their freedom of movement after they were accommodated at a foreigners' registration center in Lithuania.

Two Iraqi and a Syrian national have also lodged similar complains over the restriction of their freedom of movement.