As temperatures fall across the Northern Hemisphere, conditions for people on the move are becoming life-threatening.

In Bulgaria, close to the capital city of Sofia, a migrant was found dead after being exposed to freezing temperatures. The man was part of a group of 10 migrants who were discovered outdoors in the cold on the outskirts of Sofia on Monday, state television reported, citing the Interior Ministry.

Two men were taken to hospital, while the others were to be taken to migrant centers. Bulgaria's external EU border with Turkey is often crossed irregularly by migrants.

Bulgaria is the European Union's poorest country, and although it is a transit point for many migrants seeking to reach Western European states, it offers limited assistance to those seeking asylum.

The pro-Western government in office in Sofia since June is now aiming to join Schengen in 2024. However, Austria and the Netherlands blocked Bulgaria's admission to the visa-free borderless Schengen area in December 2022 due to irregular migration. Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov has repeatedly emphasized that the Bulgarian-Turkish land border, which is protected by a wire fence, is secure.

Also read: Finland mulls more measures to stop irregular migrant arrivals from Russia

Freezing conditions at the Belarus-Poland border

Cold weather is also a growing concern along the Belarus-Poland border. The NGO Grupa Grancia wrote on social media earlier this month that they had met a group of Syrian refugees suffering from frostbite after exposure to freezing conditions near the border. The group told NGO volunteers that there are “a lot of people trapped in the ‘sistema’" (a fenced area fenced and guarded by Belarusian soldiers on the Polish border).

Grupa Grancia has repeatedly called upon the Polish authorities to provide urgent medical assistance to vulnerable migrants and stop pushbacks. The NGO also urged the new Polish government to address the issues at the border. So far, it has remained silent.

According to Polish border guards, on November 25, some 30 people tried to cross into the Polish territories but 14 "turned back" when they saw Polish service patrols. And 13 people tried to cross the border on November 24, with one of them "turning back" after "seeing the service patrols”.

Earlier this month, a Polish soldier shot at a 22-year-old man while he attempted to cross the Belarus-Poland border – the youth reportedly had to undergo surgery as a result. The Polish prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened into the incident, but that it appeared to have been an "unfortunate accident” caused by the soldier losing his footing.

On November 4, activist and journalist Piotr Czaban wrote on Twitter that "The Syrian we had been looking for for a week was found dead. Our team arrived at the site today. Nature researchers found it right before us. The police are already here" (translated).

Also read: 'Winter is starting': NGO warning as migrants suffer frostbite at Poland-Belarus border

Polish court rules that helping refugees is not a crime

Earlier this month, the court in the Polish town of Siemiatycze ruled that transferring items across the border with Belarus cannot be punished under the Code of Administrative Offenses. The court subsequently acquitted four aid workers who were represented by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) and the Szpila Collective -- a Polish rights group.

According to HFHR, "the court found that in fact, the people did not break the ban on passing items across the border line with Belarus".

"The court determined that the wall is not exactly in the border line, but it was built on the Polish side, about 1-2 meters from the border. On the other hand, people were moving things over the fence and putting them right behind it, that is, on the strip of land, which is the territory of the Republic of Poland," HFHR wrote in a statement.

"The decisions of the Hajnówka Court show that the Border Guard's practice of either imposing fines or filing criminal charges for violations of the ban imposed by the governor is wrong. The court clearly emphasized that there is no legal basis for applying the Code of Administrative Offences in these cases," said Jarosław Jagura, an HFHR lawyer who defended the activists.

"I am very happy about this judgement because it confirms what we – activists working at the border – have been repeating for a long time: no aid is illegal. Winter is coming and there are still people in the forest who need and will need food, drink, dry clothes and shoes," said Marta, one of the people acquitted.

She added: "Our actions are criminalized, regulations are invented to hinder our work, but this judgment makes it clear: humanitarian aid is not only right from a moral point of view, but also from a legal point of view."

Also read: What Poland’s elections and new government may mean for migration

With dpa