Irish human rights lawyer says asylum seekers being expelled at EU borders 'of great concern'

Council of Europe commissioner for human rights Michael O'Flaherty said it was 'the most challenging time for the protection of human rights' he has seen in his working life. Picture: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty

Europe’s most senior human rights official has said there is evidence of asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, as he urged mainstream politicians not to concede to populists on migration.

The commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, Irish human rights lawyer Michael O’Flaherty, said he was concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers at the EU’s external borders in Poland and Greece, as he warned against a “securitisation response” that goes too far.