Deportations

On Friday 4 October 2024 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in line with the Advocate’s General Opinion, ruled that Member States cannot issue a decision rejecting an asylum application as inadmissible on the basis of the concept of a “safe third country” in cases where they have established that the asylum seeker will not be allowed to enter the territory of a country designated as safe.

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.

Incarcerating the Marginalized. The Fight Against Alleged ›Smugglers‹ on the Greek Hotspot Islands. A report on the criminalization of migration. The following report outlines the system of punishment and incarceration of migrants who are accused of human smuggling at the EU-external border in the Aegean. It bears witness to the fates of people who have been sentenced to life long imprisonment in Greece