Report

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.

The information contained within the platform is the result of extensive collaborative research led by Forensic Architecture and its berlin-based sister organization, Forensis, with the participation of Border Violence Monitoring Network, Bellingcat Global Authentication Project, Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence Lab and the Digital Verification Corps (DVC), and monitors and NGOs such as Alarm Phone, Aegean Boat Report, Refugee Support Aegean, Legal Centre Lesvos, and HIAS Greece.

The new issue of the Greek Asylum Case Law Report released today provides excerpts from 79 decisions issued in the first half of 2022 by Administrative Courts, the Independent Appeals Committees and the Asylum Service.

European Council on Refugees and Exiles: Country Report: Access to the territory and push backs

Legal ways of accessing the Greek territory are not provided for persons in need of international protection, nor does Greece issue visas for humanitarian reasons.