It has become a common practice for Greek authorities to abandon asylum seekers at sea, which has resulted in injuries and drownings. An interactive map reveals the recurring crime committed across the Aegean Sea. The Greek government must explain how abducting people in need and abandoning them in life rafts is linked to international law and European values.
Citizens’ growing concern fueled by industrial investments and the urgent need to solve environmental issues has resulted in the election of Serbia’s first Green Party to parliament.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Greek government ministers and MPs have spread false claims about refugees and international law. While experts, the UNHCR, and EU data refute their claims and more allegations are reported regarding Greece’s illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers.
Greek minister of Migration Notis Mitarachi invokes international law to distinguish “real” from “non-real” refugees. The UNHCR’s response to Solomon refutes his allegations.
Last November, it was revealed that citizens, including a Solomon journalist, were under surveillance by the Greek National Intelligence Agency (EYP) – calling into question the legality of such actions. Now, by filing a legal complaint against EYP with the country’s highest court, we call for authorities to investigate the possibility that criminal offences may have been committed by officials of an agency which appears to operate without any accountability.
The NGO Hopeten served members and journalists of Solomon and Reporters United with a legal notice regarding questions we had asked them as part of our investigation. Below is the legal notice and our response – this is not their first attempt at hindering our research and reports before we even publish anything.
After a car chase, Greek police shot and killed a young Roma man. The incident bears a striking resemblance to another case of excessive and unwarranted use of force by Greek law enforcement − in which Greece was convicted by the European Court of Justice in 2004. The Makaratzis case was the main lawsuit in a group of cases brought to the European Court of Human Rights regarding excessive use of force by Greek law enforcement and the failure of both disciplinary and judicial action to bring an end to such incidents. The Council of Europe continues to urge Greece to take action to address police violence.
A.N., a young woman from Burundi, was recently granted asylum in Greece. However, her struggle continues. She is suing Frontex, for the first time in the history of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for complicity in two pushback incidents that she claims preceded her asylum. The case is co-signed by an unaccompanied minor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – who claims that he has been pushed backed to Turkey three times, where he currently remains.
A year after the leaders of neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, were convicted of operating a criminal organization, their influence seems to have waned. However, through his own YouTube channel, which he uses to speak unopposed, Ilias Kasidiaris is aiming to become the main spokesperson of the Far Right in Greece.
