The Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, as the European Court of Human Rights had also ruled earlier, grants a suspension of removal from the country to Sudanese refugees affected by the amendment imposing a 3-month suspension of access to asylum.

PRESS RELEASE

Athens, 26 August 2025

On 25 August 2025, the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens upheld the requests of four Sudanese refugees, who have been denied access to asylum due to the recent 3-month suspension of asylum by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, and granted an interim order against their return decisions, ordering the suspension of their removal from the country.

Specifically, the four Sudanese refugees, detained at the Amygdaleza Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRO.KE.K.A.) pending return to Sudan or Libya pursuant to the recent amendment introduced by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, represented by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) had submitted Applications for Annulment and Applications for Suspension before the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, requesting also an interim decision (interim order) suspending the return decisions as well as the administration’s refusal/omission to register their asylum application based on the three-month suspension of access to asylum (Article 79 of Law 5218/2025, that suspends for three monthsthe submission of asylum applications from those arriving by boat from North Africa and provides for their return to their country of origin or departure, without registration of their asylum applications). Yesterday, The Administrative Court of Athens upheld the refugees’ requests for a temporary decision (interim order) and ordered the temporary suspension of their removal from Greece until a decision is issued on their pending Applications for Suspension before the Court.». Χθες, το Διοικητικό Πρωτοδικείο Αθηνών έκανε δεκτά τα αιτήματα των προσφύγων για χορήγηση προσωρινής διαταγής κατά των αποφάσεων επιστροφής τους, και διέταξε την προσωρινή αναστολή της απομάκρυνσής τους από τη χώρα μέχρι την έκδοση αποφάσεων επί των εκκρεμών, ενώπιόν του, Αιτήσεων Αναστολής.

Previously, on 14 August 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had granted interim measures under Rule 39 in the cases of the same four Sudanese refugees, also represented by GCR, indicating to the Greek Government not to remove them from the country.

Υπενθυμίζουμε ότι, μεταξύ άλλων, ο Συνήγορος του Πολίτη , η Εθνική Επιτροπή για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου, η Ύπατη Αρμοστεία του ΟΗΕ για τους Πρόσφυγες, η Ένωση Διοικητικών Δικαστών, ο Επίτροπος για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης καθώς και 109

It should be recalled that, among others, the Greek Ombudsman, the Greek National Commission for Human Rights,, the Association of Administrative Judges, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as 109 human rights organizations including GCR have stressed that the recent amendment suspending access to asylum for three months is incompatible with international refugee law, international human rights law, and EU law, all of which are binding on Greece and allow no derogation from their application.