In the recent years PRO ASYL together with several other human rights organizations denounced the systematic human rights violations against refugees in the Aegean Sea and the Greek-Turkish land border through illegal push-back operations, sometimes with fatal results. Hundreds of refugees described how their inflatable boats were rammed, knifed, or nearly capsized by armed men wearing black masks while they were being towed or circled by a Greek coastguard boat. Internal investigations of the Greek Coast Guard are ongoing but with no results until today despite the detailed documentations provided in many cases.
RSA follows up related reports and seeks to document cases or irregular returns, as well as expose the fact that such practices have been tolerated, concealed and sometimes endorsed by the national and European authorities.
Recurring serious indications of informal forced returns through sea and land borders
During these pushbacks families of asylum seekers are often forcibly separated.
The annual report for 2022 of the Recording Mechanism of Incidents of Informal Forced Returns in Greece
In this podcast we focus on the deadly shipwreck that happened in Farmakonisi in 2014, for which the European Court of Justice condemned Greece
Οι παραβιάσεις που εντοπίστηκαν από το Δικαστήριο στην υπόθεση του Φαρμακονησίου δεν αποτελούν ένα μεμονωμένο περιστατικό.
A Syrian refugee ,victim of informal forced return from Greece to Turkey, is among the earthquake victims in the city of Afrin
RSA is a member of the Registration Mechanism.
What remains to be decided are its accompanying measures
Campaign for Access to Asylum
According to all indications the person has been unlawfully pushed back to Turkey.
The way in which the Ministry of Migration handled last month’s case concerning the Syrian people who were left stranded for days in Evros, while sparking a general public outcry, cannot but cause concern and call for reflection.
Athens, 11/7/2022 Moderation: Dimitris Angelidis, Journalist Giorgos Tsarbopoulos, former Greece Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees I want to…
Today’s judgment from the ECtHR comes eight years following the tragic incident. It vindicates the victims by awarding compensation from the Greek State and brings to light an issue systematically concealed in public discourse: push backs and systematic deterrence practices which put lives at risk on a daily basis in Evros and the Aegean.
six Greek civil society organisations, members of the Informal Forced Returns Recording Mechanism established by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights in response to systematic push back allegations in the country, submitted a briefing to the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), covering systemic breaches of the rule of law and the EU acquis by Greek authorities.
National Transparency Authority should publish the full investigation regarding pushbacks in accordance with the principle of transparency Download the Press…
Greek authorities unlawfully pushed a group including Syrian refugee back to Turkey through the Evros land border, while a procedure for interim measures was pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
Download the Letter In a letter sent on 27 April 2021 to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson,…
Over the last years, the undersigned organisations have been receiving allegations of push-backs at the country’s land and sea borders….
Athens, May 2, 2019 The borders of Greece at Evros tend to become an area outside the law, a place…
The Felony Appeal Court of Dodecanese in Rhodes decided yesterday that the young Syrian – sentenced initially to 25 years…