News from the field

September 2025

Before the Greek courts and the European Court of Human Rights, the Greek authorities for the suspension of asylum

In July 2025, the Ministry of Migration introduced an amendment, based on the number of arrivals in Crete, suspending access to asylum for a period of three months for all people arriving in the island (for arrivals from North Africa by sea) and ordering their immediate return to their country of origin or departure. However, it should be noted that the total number of arrivals in Greece in 2025 is at the same level as in the corresponding period of 2024(from January 2024 to July 27: 25,888 arrivals – for the same period in 2025: 25,341),while accommodation facilities throughout the country are at around 57% capacity according to official data.What has changed, however, is the pattern of arrivals by sea, with Crete recording the highest numbers. It should be noted that regarding arrivals in Crete, the need to create reception facilities has already been highlighted since the fall of 2023, yet to date the island has no organized facilities and new arrivals are being placed in makeshift accommodation in completely unsuitable conditions.

The decision to suspend access to asylum is a direct violation of international and European law and has been strongly criticized by all international and national human rights institutions. Following the amendment on the suspension of asylum, those arriving in the region of Crete from July 2025 onwards are transferred to Pre-Departure Detention Centers (PROKEKA) on the Greek mainland, where they remain detained in completely unsuitable conditions, based on a return decision, while the Asylum Service refuses to register their asylum application. Poor maintenance, power cuts, limited and/or non-existent communication with the outside world, no bottled or cold water, and significant shortages of clothing and hygiene items were recorded by the ESP during its visits to the Amygdaleza PROKEKA.

In mid-August, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) granted interim measures to eight Sudanese refugees, four of whom were supported by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), who were detained at the Amygdaleza detention center (PROKEKA) without access to asylum and facing return to Sudan or Libya due to the recent amendment by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. The ECHR ordered that they would not be deported from the country. Furthermore, following the ECHR ruling, the Athens Administrative Court of First Instance accepted the request for a temporary injunction for four of the eight Sudanese who had appealed to the Greek courts, similarly ordering the administration to refrain from any deportation. More decisions on interim measures by the ECHR and the granting of interim orders by the Greek courts have since been issued. Furthermore, in a complaint to the European Commission, four civil society organizations, including GCR, are asking the Commission, as required by its institutional role, to immediately initiate legal proceedings against the three-month suspension of the right to asylum.

Following the issuance of the ECHR rulings, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum targeted civil society organizations, effectively challenging their right to judicial protection and discrediting their work. Among others, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders called on the Greek authorities to refrain from targeting organizations through arbitrary interventions and restrictions, while the Plenary Session of the country's Bar Associations condemned"any attempt to target and intimidate lawyers dealing with the Law on the Status of Aliens in the exercise of their duties and in the representation of their clients.”.

In the last ten days of September, after more than two months of applying the illegal amendment on the suspension of asylum, refugees from Sudan and Eritrea who have arrived in Crete, are no longer being taken into custody and returned, but to reception and identification centers to register their asylum applications.This is an informal de facto exemption from the amendment passed in July 2025 without specifying the criteria for this exemption.

Suspension of Asylum

Ombudsman Suspension of asylum applications and arrivals of third-country nationals in Crete, 10-7-2025, 10-7-2025
National Commission for Human Rights, The suspension of asylum applications and the violation of international law,, 11-7-2025
Association of Administrative Judges On the amendment suspending the possibility of submitting asylum applications for 3 months, 11-7-2025
Coordinating Committee of the Plenary Session of the Presidents of the Bar Associations of Greece, Provisions for the Protection of Asylum are Super-Legislative, 12-7-2025
Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, The Commissioner urges the Greek parliament to refrain from suspending the registration of asylum applications, 10-7-2025
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Serious concern over the suspension of asylum applications in Greece, 10-7-2025
Statement by 109 organizations, The unlawful suspension of access to asylum in Greece must be immediately withdrawn, 16-7-2025.

Legal Actions

Targeting organizations

UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders, Statement
Council of Europe, Conference of INGOs, Letter to the Permanent Representative of Greece to the Council of Europe, 5-9-2025
V. Papadopoulos, President of the Board of Directors of the Greek Refugee Council, Refugees and humanitarian aid under attack, 12-9-2025
Human Rights Watch, Greece’s Latest Assault on Civil Society, 16-9-2025
UN High Commissioner and EEDA on hate speech against organizations, 28-8-2025
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Statement on the targeting of civil society organizations, 27-9-2025
EFSYN, WING: the response of organizations to the criminalization of solidarity, 23-9-2025

Read also

News 24/7, Sudanese protected by the courts despite Plevris amendment,30-8-2025 & Washington Post, On migration, Greece takes a Trumpian turn,, 22-8-2025

Beyond the framework of EU law and human rights protection the new law on returns

On 8 September 2025, the new the new law of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum was published. Among other things, the law increases the limits of administrative detention of third-country nationals beyond the limits set by EU law, it introduces provisions which expand criminalization and prison sentences on third-country nationals, solely because of their presence in the country, and it abolishes any possibility of legalization even for people who have been in the country for many years who are presumed to have established ties to it.

All of the national and international human rights protection institutions that participated in the hearing before Parliament highlighted significant issues of violations caused by the new legislative framework, as well as the fact that a stricter legislation will not lead to a more effective return system.

"The proposed provisions do not actually concern the safeguarding and/or improvement of a rational and functional return system. An overview of the provisions of the bill shows that its sole concern is to ensure that more people are held in administrative or criminal detention for longer periods of time (and in some cases without any time limit), regardless of the actual possibility of deportation or even in cases where there is no prospect of deportation through no fault of their own," notes, among other things GCR, in the comments" notes, among other things GCR, in the

National Commission for Human Rights, Memorandum before the Hellenic Parliament for the discussion and voting on the draft law of the Ministry of Citizen Protection entitled: "Reform of the framework and procedures for the return of third-country nationals - Other provisions of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum"

Ombudsman "Reform of the framework and procedures for the return of third-country nationals"

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Comments on the Draft Law of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum

Association of Administrative Judges Memorandum on the draft law entitled "Reform of the framework and procedures for the return of third-country nationals - Other provisions of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum"

Greek Council for Refugees, Comments of the Greek Council for Refugees on the draft law of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum entitled: "Reform of the framework and procedures for the return of third-country nationals – Other provisions of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum"

Overview of the situation of the rights of children on the move – a joint publication by the Greek Council for Refugees and Save the Children

The second issue of the Overview covers the period May–August 2025 and records important trends and challenges related to the protection of children moving to Greece, including the change in the pattern of arrivals, asylum restrictions affecting children and their families, the impact on children of the new draft law of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, and serious shortcomings in reception and accommodation.

Full report here

Fundamental Rights and European Funding (FURI)

A new report by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) shows how European funding intersects with violations of fundamental rights in Greece.The report on Greece is part of the project FURI ("EU Funds for Fundamental RightsThe core aim of FURI is to raise awareness of the binding applicability of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in EU funding.

Full report here.

Family Reunification of Recognised Refugees in Greece – GCR report documents for the first time the obstacles refugees face in the family reunification process

Family reunification is essential to making family life possible and plays a crucial role in enabling refugees who have fled persecution to rebuild a normal life. This report examines the procedure on family reunification for recognised refugees in Greece whose family members reside outside the European Union.

Full report here.

AIDA REPORT 2024: Systemic challenges and deterioration of rights for asylum seekers despite the historic decision of the ECHR

The annual report of the Asylum Database (AIDA) for Greece has been published, recording developments in the Greek asylum and reception system for the year 2024 and the most significant developments for 2025. The report reveals an alarming picture of ongoing violations of fundamental rights, despite the historic ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Greece for systematic refoulement. In 2024, refugee and migrant arrivals in Greece increased by 14.15% compared to 2023, with a total of 62,119 people arriving in the country. At the same time, reports of violent and illegal pushbacks at land and sea borders continued unabated, a practice that the ECHR in the case ofA.R.E. v. Greece (Application no. 15783/21)].

described as "systematic" for the Evros region, condemning Greece for serious violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Press release and summary in greeke here

Full report on english here

Check your facts: What is the situation with refugees in Greece and Europe?

The Greek Council for Refugees presents documented and reliable data on the current debate surrounding the refugee crisis as part of its check your facts information campaign, which responds to misinformation with facts.

Read more here and here