Greek Council for Refugees

Members of the Afghan community of Greece protest in Athens on 7 February 2014 over the death of 12 immigrants off the island of Farmakonisi on 23 January, 2014.  Photo: EPA/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS

Greek forces have forcibly pushed 94 Syrian refugees, 30 of whom were children trapped in an islet in the Meriç River that forms the Turkish-Greek border, for four days using violence.

The Greek police have been bringing in asylum seekers living in the country and expelling them to Turkey by force while using the coronavirus pandemic as a cover for their abuses, according to a report published on May 20. 

As pressure on migrant reception centers on the Aegean islands grows amid constant arrivals from Turkey, a new report claims that the overwhelming majority of asylum seekers have no access to information about their legal rights.

As migrant flows from Turkey to the Greek islands continue unabated, the Ministry of Citizens' Protection was expected to submit a bill to Parliament early Tuesday introducing drastic changes to the country's asylum system.

The Greek Council for Refugees has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court in Athens over claims of violent pushbacks at the northeastern Evros border with Turkey.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the GCR said that its complaint includes a file of evidence supporting the claims of several migrants and asylum seekers who said they were forced back over the border into Turkey.

Three nongovernmental organizations issued a report yesterday decrying what they described as the "continuous and uninterrupted" practice of forced deportations of third-country nationals who enter Greece via its land border with Turkey.

Twenty human rights organizations - including Amnesty International, Oxfam, the Greek Council for Refugees, Oxfam and the local branch of Medecins Du Monde - have urged the Greek government and its European Union partners to ensure that all asylum seekers stranded on the Aegean islands are moved to suitable accommodation on the mainland or relocated to other EU countries as winter approaches.

The Greek Council for Refugees presents "Refugees In," a two-day event at the Bios venue addressing the many different aspects of the biggest wave of migration into Europe since World War II.

The Greek Council for Refugees has issued a 14-page report containing refugee testimonies of "systematic pushbacks" by Greek police in the country's northeastern border with Turkey in the Evros region.