Ενημερωτικό Σημείωμα του ΕΣΠ

19.04.23

GCR’s Information Note

on interventions and on interim measures granted by the ECtHR in cases regarding pushbacks

Updated on the 19th of April 2023

 

          Since March 2022 the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) has represented 468 Syrian and 38 Turkish refugees, including many children, before the European Court of Human Rights, by filing 24 applications for interim measures (Rule 39), requesting to be granted humanitarian assistance and access to the asylum procedure.

The Court granted the requested interim measures for all cases and ordered the Greek government not to remove the refugees from the country’s territory and to provide them with food, water and proper medical care. The ECtHR also requested to be informed by the Greek government, amongst others, on whether the refugees have submitted an asylum application and whether they have access to the asylum procedure and to legal assistance.

Some of the refugees of these 24 groups have been formally arrested by the Greek authorities but most of them complain they have been pushed back to Turkey. It should be noted that the refugees, even from the groups that were formally arrested, complain that in the past they had been subjected to violent and informal return (pushback) to Turkey from Greece.

Furthermore, both with respect to those stranded on the islets and those in the Greek mainland, the refugees who complain that they have been pushed back to Turkey, also complain that they were informally arrested by the Greek authorities, informally detained in an unspecified detention facility in the Evros region, they were treated with violence, they were transferred to the Evros river bank from where they were forcibly put in boats and pushed back to Turkey.

In particular:

  1. Application no. 13624/22, A.A. and others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 16/3/2022.

      30 Syrian refugees including children. One child fell in the river and allegedly drowned during pushback operation. Applicants were formally arrested and registered after being stranded for several days on an islet in river Evros. Joint representation with the organization Human Rights 360 -a full application has been submitted before the Court. 

  1. Application no. 18341/22, B.M. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 13/4/2022.

        27 Syrian refugees including 5 children were formally arrested and registered. 

  1. Application no. 18940/22, A.D. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 19/4/2022.

37 Syrian refugees including 17 children complain that they were pushed back from Greece to Turkey, while the Court’s decision was pending. GCR submitted a full application before the Court. Some of them entered Greece again three more times and they were stranded again on an islet in the Evros river. In particular: In two times  they were pulled back by Turkish border guards together with two other groups of Syrians (see below S.S. and F.R. cases) and the third time, while being stranded on an islet for 10 days (15/6 -26/6/2022), together with some of the refugees of the S.S. and F.R. groups and also a new group of Syrians (see below M.A. case) they were pushed back to Turkey again.

  1. Application no. 18941/22, Η.Α. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 19/4/2022.

46 Syrian refugees including 10 children were formally arrested and registered. 

  1. Application no. 19419/22, K.M.I. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 21/4/2022.

39 Syrian refugees including 9 children complain that they were pushed back from Greece to Turkey twice. The second pushback took place after the Court’s decision. A woman in need of haemodialysis allegedly died on the islet. Some of them entered Greece again and were formally arrested and registered. A full application has been submitted by GCR before the Court. 

  1. Application no. 21131/22, A.A. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 4/5/2022.

14 Syrian refugees complain that they were pushed back from Greece to Turkey. Some of the applicants entered Greece again and were formally arrested and registered. A full application has been submitted by GCR before the Court.  

  1. Application no. 21039/22, S.S. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 29/4/2022.

12 Syrian refugees including 3 children complain that they were pulled back from an islet in the Evros river by Turkish border guards. Some of them entered Greece again together with some of the Applicants of the A.D. and F.R groups as well as together with 18 other Syrian refugees (see below F.R. and M.A. cases ). All of them complain that while they were stranded on an islet in the Evros river for 10 days (15/6 -26/6/2022)  they were pushed back to Turkey. 

  1. Application no. 23128/22, F.R. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 11/5/2022

39 Syrian refugees including 13 children complain that they were pulled back from an islet in the Evros river by Turkish border guards. Some of them entered Greece again together with some of the Applicants of the A.D. and S.S. groups as well as together with  other Syrian refugees (see below M.A. case). All of them complain that while they were stranded on an islet in the Evros river for 10 days (15/6 -26/6/2022)  they were pushed back to Turkey.  

  1. Application regarding five Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 27/5/2022.

Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey, while the Court’s decision was pending. Joint representation with the organization Refugee Support Aegean. A full application has been submitted by GCR and RSA before the Court.

  1. Application regarding seven Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 27/5/2022 

Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey while the Court’s decision was pending. 

  1. Application no. 25806/22 - H.M. and Others v. Greece and 15 other applications, interim measures granted on 25/5/2022.

93 Syrian refugees, stranded on an islet in the Evros river, complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey after the Court’s decision. 27 of them entered Greece again and found themselves stranded on another islet, together with the applicants from the case H.M. (see below). They complain that they were pushed back to Turkey for the second time.  Joint representation with the organization Human Rights 360. 

  1. Application no. 26558/22, H. M. v. Greece and 6 other applications, interim measures granted on 1/6/2022.

Some of the 93 applicants in Application no. 25806/22 (see above) entered Greece again together with the 28 applicants in the current case.  Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey after the Court’s decision. Joint representation with the organization Human Rights 360. 

  1. Application no. 29655/22 - M.A. and Others v. Greece and 13 other cases, interim measures granted on 17/6/2022.

18 Syrian refugees including 7 children were stranded on an islet in the Evros river for 10 days (15/6-26/6/2022) together with applicants of cases A.D., S.S. and F.R. v. Greece. Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey after the Court’s decision.

  1.  Application regarding five Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 5/7/2022

Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey while the Court’s decision was pending. A full application has been submitted by GCR before the Court.

  1. Application regarding eleven Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 8/7/2022

Applicants complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey while the Court’s decision was pending.

  1. Application no. 35090/22 -K.A. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 20 July 2022

50 Syrian refugees, stranded on an islet in the Evros river, complain that they were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey after the Court’s decision. Most of them entered Greece again and found themselves stranded on the same islet. They complain that a young girl died on the islet from insect bites. They moved to the mainland and then were formally arrested and registered. The request for the interim measures were submitted by GCR and Human Rights 360. The full application before the Court has been submitted by GCR.

  1. Application no. 35490/22 - M.J. and Others v. Greece,  interim measures granted on 22/7/2022.

6 persons out of which 5 Syrian nationals (including 1 asylum seeker in Greece) and 1 stateless minor from Kuwait, recognized refugee in Greece, being stranded on an islet in the Evros river for over a month along with 2 Applicants of other cases (S.S. v. Greece case - Application no. 21039/22 and N.A. v. Greece case - Application no. 29680/22).  

  1. Application regarding four Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 4/8/2022

The applicants were formally arrested and registered.

  1. Application no. 38444/22 - B.S. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 9/8/2022.

5 Syrian refugees, stranded on an islet in the Evros river, along with applicants  from the K.A. v. Greece case.  They moved to the mainland and then were formally arrested and registered. The request for the interim measures were submitted by GCR and Human Rights 360.  The full application before the Court has been submitted by GCR.

  1. Application regarding six Turkish refugees, interim measures granted on 22/9/2022.

The applicants were formally arrested and registered while the interim measures request was pending.

  1. Application no. 49474/22 A.Z. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 21/10/2022.

7 Syrian refugees, including 3 children, were formally arrested and registered in Evros region following the Court’s decision.

  1. Application no. 9906/23, M.D. and Others v. Greece, interim measures granted on 3/3/2023

17 Syrian refugees complain that they were pushed-back multiple times from Greece to Turkey in Evros region. According to our information the applicants were pushed-back from Greece to Turkey after the Court’s decision as well. The submission of the full application before the Court is pending. 

10 of them entered Greece again later in March but, according to our information, they were pushed-back to Turkey again. (See below Applications nos.: 13532/23 M.D. and Others v. Greece, 13533/23 H.R. and Others v. Greece, 13534/23 M.D. and S.D. v. Greece granted on 30/3/2023) 

23.Application regarding one Turkish refugee, interim measures granted on 29/3/2023 

The applicant went missing while the decision of the Court was pending. 

24.Applications nos.: 13532/23 M.D. and Others v. Greece, 13533/23 H.R. and Others v. Greece, 13534/23 M.D. and S.D. v. Greece granted on 30/3/2023 

10 of the applicants of the case M.D. and Others v. Greece complain that they were pushed-back once more from Greece to Turkey after a new entrance in Greece and a new Court’s decision. The submission of the full application before the Court is pending. 

GCR calls on the Greek authorities to stop refoulements and urgently and immediately comply with the ECtHR’s decisions, before more refugees are put at risk. 

Since January 2022, GCR has sent at least 175 interventions to the Greek authorities for the cases of more than 900 refugees including many children, from Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq, who entered Greece from the Evros region seeking international protection. In approximately half of these interventions, the Greek authorities responded positively on locating them and providing them access to the procedures provided by law.  Regarding the rest of the interventions, the Greek authorities either did not reply or replied that they had not been able to locate them. In some of these interventions, which concerned refugees from Turkey and Syria, our organization was informed later that the refugees were informally and forcibly returned to Turkey, without being given the opportunity to submit an asylum application. For the rest of these interventions our organization had no information on the whereabouts of the refugees.

 

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