Over 50 detained migrants in Estonia claim to be minors

More than 50 of the 109 migrants detained in Estonia since July 21 have claimed to be unaccompanied minors, ERR reported, citing Indrek Aru, head of the Border Guard Bureau at the Police and Border Guard Board’s Northern Prefecture.

Estonia currently holds 119 foreign nationals in detention. Since July 21, police have detained 109 people in Tallinn who illegally crossed the Belarus Latvia border during a migration influx. No irregular migrants have currently been detected elsewhere in Estonia.

Under an agreement between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia has transferred 19 irregular migrants to Latvia. Aru said all of the returns took place during the past week.

He stressed that the detainees only claim to be minors. In several cases, officials have found that people changed their accounts, saying one day that they were 30 and the next that they were 16.

According to Aru, fewer than 10 people appear genuinely likely to be under 18. He said some detainees were unlikely to convince police they were minors if, for example, they had long beards and wrinkles around their eyes.

Aru said the migrants may make such claims in the hope of receiving different and less restrictive treatment, including release from the detention centre and transfer to accommodation where they expect better conditions.

Thirty possible unaccompanied minors are being held at a detention centre in Rae municipality. Under the law, the municipality must provide them with guardianship and asked the Social Insurance Board for assistance on Wednesday.

According to Indrek Juss, a senior specialist at the Social Insurance Board, the people are reportedly from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and most are over 16. Their native language is Tigrinya, with communication taking place through two interpreters: first from Tigrinya into English and then from English into Estonian.

The age issue becomes particularly important when a minor has no accompanying adult. A legal representative must first be appointed, usually a municipal employee, after which other necessary parties are involved and procedural steps begin.

Officials must establish the people’s country of origin, identity and actual age. Aru said the authorities believe that the large majority of those claiming to be unaccompanied minors are not actually minors.

Age assessments are conducted by an expert committee that includes a Police and Border Guard Board expert, a municipal representative, a Social Insurance Board representative, a psychologist and a medical worker. The experts interview the alleged unaccompanied minors and then assess their likely age.

Aru said the first interviews have taken place, but it is too early to discuss the results. The committee is still forming its assessments, which must then be legally documented.