Deportations

Granting of refugee status to survivors and supplementary criminal investigation. The survivors of the Pylos shipwreck on 14 June 2023, whom we legally represent, along with most other survivors, were finally granted refugee status at the end of 2024, following persistent efforts, and while some of their asylum applications had initially been rejected at the first instance.

Clear evidence of serious criminal liability among senior Coast Guard officers – Unacceptable interference by the Ministry of Shipping

Την Παρασκευή 4 Οκτωβρίου 2024 το Δικαστήριο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης (ΔΕΕ), συντασσόμενο και με τη Γνώμη του Γενικού Εισαγγελέα, έκρινε ότι τα κράτη μέλη δεν μπορούν να εκδώσουν απόφαση που απορρίπτει αίτημα ασύλου ως απαράδεκτο, με βάση την έννοια της «ασφαλούς τρίτης χώρας», όταν έχουν διαπιστώσει ότι δεν θα επιτραπεί στον αιτούντα άσυλο να μεταβεί στο έδαφος χώρας που έχει χαρακτηρισθεί ως ασφαλής.

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.