DISINFO: Poland blasts poison on migrants
SUMMARY
Poles poured cold water with poisonous additives on thousands of peaceful refugees - women and children in the cold. The same water cannons, which poured a poisonous mixture of red pepper and insect repellent on migrants for almost two hours, are still directed to the empty checkpoint.
RESPONSE
Disinformation related to the migration situation at the EU - Belarus border.
On the part of the Polish police, the use of water cannons was confirmed by Inspector General Jarosław Szymczyk. It was a response to "incredible aggression", as migrants threw cobblestones at Polish officers and injured some of them.
However, there is no evidence to support claims that any type of poison was poured on the migrants. The pro-Kremlin reports only quotes Belarus' leader Lukashenka on this, without showing more evidence.
EU High representative Joseph Borell said that "we are witnessing instability, conflicts, transnational threats that impact our security and certainly using hybrid tactics as we see today at the border with Belarus".
Belarus' human rights organization Human Constanta reports: "there is evidence that the Belarusian authorities are intentionally preventing migrants from formally approaching the Polish border service and requesting international protection from them, forcing people to break the law and cross the border into Poland in violation of the established procedure. This approach can lead to an escalation of the conflict at the border and casualties among migrants who were forced to leave their home countries".
See more examples of related disinformation claims here.