MINSK, December 14. /TASS/. A refugee discovered by Belarusian border guards near the border with Latvia said that his brother had died in a hospital following a beating by Latvian security services, the press service of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus reported on Wednesday.

"On the night of December 12-13, a border patrol unit discovered a refugee at the Latvian border. According to the foreigner, he was on Latvian soil and wanted to get to Germany. After being detained by the Latvian police, he was taken to the woods and left on the border with Belarus," the press service’s statement said. "The refugee also said that he was in Latvia together with his brother. However, his sibling died in a Latvian hospital where he was taken after the beating by the Latvian police."

Earlier this week, the Belarusian State Border Committee reported the discovery of a group of refugees on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border who were subjected to physical violence, involving the use of stun guns, while in the EU. On the border with Poland, foreigners were found whom Polish border guards pushed to Belarusian territory through a gate used for animals to enter.

EU security forces regularly attempt to drive illegal migrants toward Belarus or leave the bodies of dead refugees on the border.

A serious migration crisis on the Belarusian borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland erupted in November 2021. Thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa heading to Europe repeatedly attempted to cross into Poland and the Baltic states from Belarusian territory.