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The following table lists the pending and closed national criminal investigations of alleged ill-treatment at borders between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2024. Cases in which the judicial authority found no evidence to start an investigation are not included in the table.
Table 2 – Judicial investigations opened in 16 Member States from 2020 to 2024
|
Member State |
Reply by judicial authority |
Other replies |
Number of cases |
Number of convictions |
Alleged conduct (selected) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | √ | civil society | 4 | 0 | excessive use of force and theft during apprehension and summary removal to Türkiye |
| Croatia | (in 2023) | Ministry of the Interior; civil society | 18 | 0 | torture; inhuman or degrading treatment; rape; robbery; unlawful deprivation of liberty; abuse of position of authority |
| Cyprus | √ | UNHCR and civil society | 0 | 0 | — |
| Estonia | √ | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Finland | √ | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| France | x | civil society | 6 | 0 | manslaughter and non-assistance to people in danger (drowning in the English Channel); ill-treatment and abandonment of people unable to protect themselves |
| Greece | x | Reply of the Greek authorities to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; Hellenic Police; Hellenic Coastguard; National Human Rights Commission | 68 | 0 | ill-treatment; physical injury; torture; rape; theft; homicide; illegal use of firearms |
| Italy | √ | legal actors | 1 | 0 | negligent shipwreck; multiple negligent manslaughter |
| Latvia | √ | Internal Security Office | 2 | 0 | unlawful confiscation of property |
| Lithuania | √ | civil society | 2 | 0 | severe health impairment; abuse of authority |
| Malta | x | civil society | 1 | 0 | wilful homicide and attempted wilful homicide (delayed rescue) |
| Poland | x | civil society; border guards; police | 5 | 0 | causing damage to health; unintentional manslaughter |
| Romania | √ | border police | 3 | 0 | abusive behaviour and theft |
| Slovakia | (in 2023) | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Spain | x | Ministry of the Interior; civil society and open sources | 4 | 1 | homicide by gross negligence; denial of assistance; beating causing loss of vision; excessive use of force |
| Total | 135 | 4 |
NB: The table includes only cases that FRA could identify and is therefore not comprehensive. FRA did not receive any new information for Malta, Slovakia and Spain. For Italy, FRA received a reply by its national liaison officer. For Croatia, some cases may have been counted twice, as FRA could not verify whether cases reported by the authorities and by civil society were the same. For Lithuania, FRA reassessed a 2022 case that was not covered in FRA’s 2024 report and included it in this update.
√ = FRA received information from prosecutorial or judicial authorities
x = FRA did not receive information from prosecutorial or judicial authorities
UNHCR = Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Source: FRA (2025), based on an exchange of information with prosecutorial or judicial authorities or publicly available sources
The following table provides an overview of national disciplinary investigations opened before the end of 2024. For Member States that did not reply, FRA included cases reported by other sources.
Table 3 – Disciplinary investigations opened in 16 Member States from 2020 to 2024
|
Member State |
Reply to FRA request |
Number of reported cases |
Number of cases in which sanctions were imposed |
Alleged conduct (selected) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | x | 1 (*) | n/a | violent pushback |
| Croatia | √ | 20 | 7 | police brutality; illegal confiscation of assets |
| Cyprus | √ | 0 | 0 | — |
| Estonia | (in 2023) | 0 | 0 | — |
| Finland | √ | 1 | 0 | pressure and threats in order to provide information |
| France | x | 11 (*) | 0 | deliberate violence; exposure to risk of death or injury; insulting language |
| Greece | √ | 81 | 0 | ill-treatment, torture, rape and theft during apprehension and summary removal to Türkiye; homicide; illegal use of firearms |
| Hungary | √ | 20 | 6 | abuse; use of dogs against migrants |
| Italy | x | n/a | n/a | — |
| Latvia | √ | 3 | 0 | — |
| Lithuania | √ | 4 | 0 | unnecessary use of coercive measures; discrimination; abuse of power |
| Malta | x | n/a | n/a | — |
| Poland | √ | 13 | 0 | harassment; misappropriation of personal belongings; causing damage to the health of migrants; unintentional manslaughter |
| Romania | √ | 5 | 0 | abusive behaviour; physical aggression; theft |
| Slovakia | √ | 0 | 0 | — |
| Spain | (in 2023) | 2 | 0 | physical injuries; assault |
| Total | 161 | 13 |
NB: FRA did not receive any new information from Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Malta and Spain.
(*) = The cases were reported for FRA’s 2024 report by FRA’s multidisciplinary research network FRANET after consultations with national human rights bodies, organisations providing support or legal aid to refugees and migrants, and lawyers.
Source: FRA (2025), based on an exchange of information with enforcement bodies and ministries in charge of disciplinary investigations.