Report

This report draws on information inter alia provided by the Directorate of the Hellenic Police and the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection (GSVP) of the Ministry on Migration and Asylum, national and international jurisprudence, reports by international, European and national human rights bodies and institutions, international and non-governmental organisations, publicly available data, media information as well as GCR’s observations from practice and information provided by the GCR Legal and Social Unit.

The report describes how denial of assistance, violence and refoulement have become an integral part of a border management system on the islands of Samos and Lesvos, funded and legitimised by the European Union, with devastating consequences for those seeking protection in Europe.

Αναφορά για την ποινικοποίηση της μετανάστευσης. Η έκθεση που ακολουθεί περιγράφει το σύστημα τιμωρίας και φυλάκισης των μεταναστών που κατηγορούνται για λαθρεμπόριο ανθρώπων στα εξωτερικά σύνορα της ΕΕ, στο Αιγαίο.

Migration in Greece: Recent developments in 2022" - Eda Gemi and Bledar Feta

The case of ‘ERCI and others’ is part of a series of prosecutions happening in the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea that aim to criminalize solidarity and the rescue of migrants. However, this particular case stands out in that the defendants are seeking to stand trial in every way possible, and the court, five years later, is denying it.

Based on its own documentation and reporting, the Legal Centre Lesvos demonstrates in a recent submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that the illegal practice of systematic pushbacks in the Aegean region amount to torture, both under international and Greek law.

As the conditions worsen in Lesvos’ Reception and Identification Center in Lesvos (known as Mavrovouni RIC), the new Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC) in Vastria continues to be built with the full support of the European Commission, despite the multiple voices raised against its construction: away from sight in the middle of a forest. Vastria has come to represent the future policies of the European Union and Greek State; more construction, fences and walls for people, at the expense of nature.

Equal Rights Beyond Borders together with HIAS Greece and Refugee Support Aegean and commissioned by the Danish Refugee Council published an analysis on Border Procedures on the Greek Islands.
Τhe report examines the workings of border procedures implemented on the Greek islands over the past year (June 2021 – June 2022), revealing new concerns tied to poor quality of asylum procedures and to breaches of fundamental rights.