Frag Out! Magazine

was attacked - a large group of people was trying to enter Polish territory via that entry point. That attempt was stopped by the sol- dier, Border Guard officers, and riot Police units. Water cannons and helicopters were employed. The state of emergency ended after 90 days - the maximum possible pe- riod for which a state as such may remain valid. However, instead of emergency measures, strict rules were put in place, when it comes to staying in the area adjacent to the border. Rules applicable in the case of persons crossing the state border were also changed. The Act on Foreigners now includes regula- tions stating that the "Commander of the Border Guard station having a jurisdiction over the location whe- re the border was crossed issues a border crossing protocol and a de- cision on leaving the territory of the Republic of Poland" - these regula- tions pertain to the persons who were detained immediately after crossing the external border of the Schengen area. It may be stated that push-back practice has been legalized that way (pushing out persons who illegally crossed the state border, back to the territory from which they were attempting to cross it). In 2022 the situation on the bor- der became less tense. In 2021, as the Border Guard's statistics show, 2,877 persons were detained or detected as illegally crossing/ trying to cross the border. In 2022 the number went down to 588, but only in the first half of 2023, 362 persons were recorded. One should however note, that the data perta- ins solely to persons who were de- tained, not those who were making attempts at crossing the border, without actually being stopped. Those numbers show that the mi- gration pressure is yet again on the rise. "Wagner" PMC deployment to Belarus, reported by the media, has become an extra element of tempts were made at illegally cros- sing the border, as opposed to 395 incidents in total, between January and July. The Polish authorities decided to strengthen the border protection measures, first by creating a bar- bed wire barrier. This type of barrier was to discourage those making attempts at crossing the border, due to the risk of injury. Attempts were made, by the protesting acti- vities, to cut the barrier. Border Guard was also supported by the Polish Armed Forces. No documents on the assignment of soldiers have been disclosed so far - the decisions made by the Presi- dent to use military units and the executive decision made by the Mi- nister of Defense. The last, and the most strict of the measures came in the form of a state of emergency, declared on September 3rd, 2021, in the re- gions of Podlaskie and Lubelskie Voivodeships. The regions in qu- estion, adjacent to the border, had some limitations imposed on hu- man rights and freedoms: 1. Suspension of the right to orga- nize and conduct, within the area covered by the state of emergency, gatherings, as understood in line with the regulations of the July 24th, 2015 Act, Law on Assemblies (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] 2019, item 631); 2. Suspension of the right to orga- nize and conduct, within the area covered by the state of emergency, mass events, as understood in line with the regulations of the March 20th, 2009 Act on Safety of Mass Events (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] 2019, item 2171), and artistic and artistic entertainment events that are not classified as mass events. 3. Obligation to bear personal ID or another document that allows one to identify one's identity by persons of the age of at least 18, staying in public areas in the area covered by the state of emergency, or school ID in the case of persons younger than 18; 4. Curfew, prohibiting people from being present at a defined time, in designated locations, areas, or at facilities, within the region covered by the state of emergency; 5. Ban on recording, with the use of technical means, the appearan- ce or other features of specific lo- cations, facilities, or areas located within the area covered by the state of emergency; 6. Limitation of the right to own firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other types of weapons, by in- troducing a ban on bearing those, within the area covered by the state of emergency; 7. Limitation of access to public in- formation on the activities conduc- ted within the area covered by the state of emergency, related to the protection of the state border and prevention and countering illegal migration. The scope within which the Armed Forces were employed was also expanded, and designated "Silne Wsparcie" [Strong Support]. Terri- torial Defense Forces and the Army were deployed in the area. Escala- tion of the crisis could have been noted on the Belorussian side. For instance, on November 8th, close to the border, a group of migrants was led to the area near the Kuź- nica Białostocka border checkpo- int, with support provided by the Belorussian state services. The migrants were making numerous attempts aimed at destroying the barbed wire barrier, also attacking the Polish soldiers and Border Gu- ard officers. A week later, the very same border crossing checkpoint www.fragoutmag.com

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