This report from the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) contributes to an existing body of extensive documentation of the Greek state’s illegal pushbacks practice, by providing particularly detailed descriptions of twelve pushback cases at the Evros border region occurred in 2023 and legally represented by GCR before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). These victims’ testimonies offer a disturbing insight into the organized and systematic nature of these illegal practices of the Greek authorities, in consistency with reports from national and international human rights bodies, institutions and organizations, documenting the same modus operandi. Furthermore, the report highlights the systemic issue of ineffective investigations into reports and complaints for pushbacks and rights violations at the EU’s external borders, that contribute to an environment of total impunity, by presenting details on the investigation and recent judicial developments of three pushback cases, legally represented by GCR before the ECtHR, along with official statistics on Greek judicial investigations and cases brought before the ECtHR.
