News Bulletin by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PRO ASYL:
Seven years after signing the toxic EU-Turkey "agreement", the East Aegean islands remain "black holes" for the fundamental rights of applicants for international protection. According to recent data, arrivals had increased significantly in late 2022 and early 2023.

JOINT STATEMENT BY LEGAL CENTRE LESVOS, BORDERLINE-EUROPE, CAN’T EVICT SOLIDARITY AND AEGEAN MIGRANT SOLIDARITY
Since 2015, with the increased arrivals of boats coming from Turkey to Greece, thousands of people have faced charges, and people accused or convicted of human smuggling now make up the second largest prison population in Greece. The prosecution of A.B. is unfortunately not unique, as the targeting of migrants as smugglers has become a part of migration management in Greece, and throughout Europe.

Commissioned by lawyers representing the Moria 6, Forensic Architecture and Forensis worked in collaboration with ReFOCUS Media Labs to map how the fire developed and to interrogate the testimony of the key witness in advance of the appeal trial scheduled for March 2023.

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.

The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) as the National Human Rights Institution in Greece (NHRI) and the independent advisory body to the Greek State for the protection and promotion of human rights, presented the Recording Mechanism of Incidents of Informal Forced Returns at a Press Conference held at its premises on Tuesday 24 January at 11.30 am. During the Conference the Recording Mechanism's mode of operation and methodology was presented, as well as a number of findings, recorded in its first Interim Report.