The Council of State annuls the designation of Turkey as a 'safe third country' for asylum seekers

The Plenary of the Greek Council of State has accepted the Application for Annulment of the Joint Ministerial Decision designating Turkey as a safe third country for asylum seekers originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which has been subjected by GCR and RSA. In addition, the Council of State has accepted the Applications for Annulment regarding individual cases of asylum seekers whose asylum application has been rejected as inadmissible on the basis of the safe third country concept, also supported by GCR and RSA.

These Decisions of the Council of State overturn a long-standing arbitrary and abusive practice of the Greek Authorities, involving the blanket rejection of asylum applications as inadmissible based on the “safe third country” concept and put an end to the denial of rights of thousands of asylum seekers, by prohibiting the rejection of asylum applications when there is no possibility of readmission to Turkey, and mandating their individualized examination in accordance with the provisions of the law.

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NGreece condemned (again) by the European Court of Human Rights over deadly coastguard operation

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has condemned Greece for violation of the right to life, for the death of a 17-year-old refugee by shooting by a coast guard during an operation to control a boat carrying refugees near the island of Symi in August 2015, Almikhlas & Al-Maliki v. Greece, application no. 22776/18, 25/03/2025.

Inter alia, the ECtHR held that the protection of the right to life of the passengers on board the vessel was neither among the objectives nor a priority of the operation conducted by the Coast Guard authorities and underlined: "the practice of using fire in such situations, especially against an overcrowded yacht, in which there are persons in a state of panic, is extremely dangerous. Coastguards could not be unaware of the inherent dangers in using firearms in this context". The Court also found - once again - that the Greek Courts had failed to examine the case effectively.

This Judgment comes following previous ECtHR convictions concerning the defective organisation of a search and rescue operation by the Greek Hellenic Coast Guard, Safi and others v Greece - the Farmakonisi case, supported among others by GCR, the use of disproportionate force and the absence of clear rules on the use of weapons in the operations of Hellenic Coast Guard (Alkhatib and others v Greece - Pserimos case) and while the investigation of the deadly shipwreck of Pylos remains to this day, almost two years later, pending before the Piraeus Naval Court.

The case demonstrates yet again well-documented, systemic problems in the planning and implementation of Coast Guard operations and in the investigation of human rights violations at sea, underlines RSA which represent the case before the Court.

RSA Press Release

Press Release of the Court (in English)

Judgment of the Court (in French)

The prolonged stay of unaccompanied children in the so-called "safe areas" in the Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs) of the islands and the Malakasa Reception and Identification Centre (RIC), in wholly inadequate conditions and under de facto detention, continues.

Despite a series of recommendations by civil society organisations (1, 2), the Greek Ombudsman and the Interim Measures granted by the European Court of Human Rights, the prolonged stay of unaccompanied children, in many cases for months, in totally inadequate conditions, in the so-called "safe areas" of the CCACs on the islands and in the Reception and Identification Centre of Malakasa, continues. As reported, in March 2025, a total of 308 unaccompanied children remained in Malakasa (with a capacity of 200 places for unaccompanied children), 244 unaccompanied children in Samos, 170 unaccompanied children in Kos and 169 unaccompanied children in Leros.

In a violent incident that took place in the Malakasa Reception and Identification Centre in March 2025, 16 unaccompanied children were injured, while totally inadequate living conditions are recorded in the so-called 'safe area’ of the CCAC of Samos. A number of documents from EU Commission agencies and services also reflect the lack of basic conditions for the reception of unaccompanied children in the CCACs of Samos, Kos and Leros.

At the same time, the Administrative Courts of First Instance of Syros and Rhodes ruled that the restriction of the freedom of unaccompanied children within the CCACs for a period of more than two months constituted an unlawful de facto detention measure.

New leadership at the Ministry of Migration and Asylum - persistence in the dead-end policy of "returns". 

The new leadership of the Ministry of Μigration and Asylum, appointed after the March 2015 reshuffle, repeatedly refers to the issue of "returns" as a key priority of the Ministry's policy. Apart from the fact that the issues of return of irregularly staying third-country nationals do not fall within the competence of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, and that they have already been the subject of legislative amendments without the much announced intended results (see, inter alia, Law 4825/2021 "Reform of deportation and return procedures of third-country nationals, etc."), it should be stressed that any proposal and policy on migration and asylum, in order to be realistic and to achieve results, should be based on data and facts.

For example, according to the statistics, more than 75% of those arrived on the Greek islands in 2024 are persons who cannot be returned to their country of origin due to the security situation there (among them 35% Syrian citizens, 26% Afghan citizens, etc. - see in detail). This is also the profile of the people living on the islands in 2025 - 51% Afghan nationals and 26% Syrian nationals, of whom 38% are children and 20% women - data as of March 2025. Finally, according to the official statistics of the Greek Asylum Service, the recognition rate of international protection for applications examined in 2024 exceeds 78%. A realistic policy must therefore take these statistics and data into account and aim for their smooth and mutually beneficial integration into Greek society.

GCR report launched at European Parliament

On the 9th anniversary of the EU-Turkey Deal, in the course of the event "LEFT TO DIE: Unveiling pushback practices in Greece and Poland," GCR presented at the European Parliament the recent report "At Europe’s Borders: Pushbacks Under Impunity", as well as recent developments. The Head of the FRONTEX Fundamental Rights Office (FRONTEX FRO) and the Head of the Asylum, Migration and Borders Unit of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (EU FRA) also took part in the panel discussion. The event was organised in cooperation with OXFAM and hosted by MEPs Cecilia Strada (S&D) and Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA). Within the framework of this visit, GCR also met with the European Ombudsman's office, the European Commission's Directorates for Asylum and Justice (DG Home & DG Justice) and MEPs from a wide political spectrum (EPP, S&D, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA, Renew Europe).

During the event and the meetings, the illegal and systematic practice of pushback, the systemic lack of effective investigations in cases of pushback, rights violations and border violence, the importance of the recent landmark ECtHR judgment condemning Greece for the first time for pushback in Evros (A.R.E. v. Greece) and confirming the above, the need for an effective criminal investigation and accountability for Pylos shipwreck, the issue of 'safe third country' and the need for EU legislation to be implemented accordingly, were highlighted, among others.