Lawyers, judges, politicians, representatives of NGOs, former judges of international courts and tribunals, academics and other human rights and criminal justice professionals from fourteen European countries have sent an open letter to the heads of the European Union Institutions calling on their leadership and assistance in urging the Member States to implement broad amnesty measures for vulnerable prisoners. 

The authors of the letter stress that the measures recommended by the World Health Organization, such as avoiding physical contact with others, are clearly ineffective in overcrowded places. Detained persons are often held in crowded environments in poor conditions, as are illegal immigrants awaiting forced returns. This puts the detainees and the staff charged with guarding them in a risk of overexposure to the virus and consequently to more or less serious forms of the disease. 

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