News from Greece
A chronological collection of developments on the camps on the Greek islands and political reactions to them from Athens, Brussels and Berlin.
News about the miserable situation in the camps unfortunately often only appear in Greek press. Many apps or add-ons for the browser offer automatic translations for this.
All news in chronological order:
25.10.2022: Three people were found on Lesbos with their hands tied by an aid organization. The circumstances are unclear.
– MSF
20.10.2022: The Greek government has subsequently admitted that people seeking protection were on Greek territory. Previously, the island on the Evros River was described as Turkish territory.
– GCR
– Twitter
10/15/2022: The newspaper EUObserver writes in an editorial about pushbacks at the European external border.
– EUObserver
10/15/2022: Greek police discovered dozens of people without clothes in a border region. The circumstances are unclear.
– Reuters
13.10.2022: The NGO Fragdenstaat has published the secret report of the EU anti-corruption agency "OLAF". It heavily incriminates the EU agency Frontex and the Greek coast guard.
– Ask the State
06.10.2022: At least 18 people have died in a shipwreck off Lesbos.
– Reuters
09/27/2022: Frankfurter Rundschau accompanied Members of the European Parliament to Greece and reports on the trip.
– FR
08/22/2022: Following a scandal involving the Pegasus spy software used to wiretap an opposition politician in Greece by the government, the New York Times reports.
– NYT
08/15/2022: IRC reports an emergency with 39 shelter seekers on an island on the Evros in need of urgent assistance.
– IRC
08/10/2022: Journalists report a death of a 5-year-old girl on the Evros River, which occurred on an island of the river after a pushback by Greek border guards.
– AlJazeera
10.08.2022: Dozens of people are missing after a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.
– efsyn
08/07/2022: A body is found in Greece in the Palios area.
– stonisi
07/18/2022: A coalition of NGOs operating on Samos calls on Frontex to make Article 46 of the Frontex Regulation applicable in Greece.
– Twitter
07/17/2022: The taz reports that Germany has taken in 2812 protection seekers from Greece since 2020 and that no further admissions are currently planned.
– taz
11.07.2022: Turkish news channel Andalosu Agency publishes footage purporting to show a pushback in Aegean Sea.
– AA
07/11/2022: Efsyn reports a dead man trying to escape a pushback by Greek police.
– efsyn
07/11/2022: In a report, the Greek Council of Refugees and Oxfam describe the situation of people seeking protection in Greece.
– GCR/OXFAM
08.07.2022: The Greek newspaper Stonisi reports that confidential documents and records are unprotected in the former refugee camp Kara Tepe.
– Stonisi
07/04/2022: The NGO Aegan Boat Report reports another pushback in the Aegean Sea.
– ABR
04.07.2022: The journalist Franziska Grillmeier wrote in the Zeit how Greece breaks the law, but the consequences are missing.
– TimeOnline
07/01/2022: In an interview with RND, I called for consequences for the government in Athens for willfully not complying with EU law.
– RND
07/01/2022: EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johanson has called on Greece to end the practice of pushbacks at the EU's external borders.
– Mirror Online
07/01/2022: In a detailed report, the Border Violence Monitoring Network describes the situation at the land border between Turkey and Greece.
– BVMN
08.07.2022: The Greek newspaper Stonisi reports that confidential documents and records are unprotected in the former refugee camp Kara Tepe.
– Stonisi
07/04/2022: The NGO Aegan Boat Report reports another pushback in the Aegean Sea.
– ABR
04.07.2022: The journalist Franziska Grillmeier wrote in the Zeit how Greece breaks the law, but the consequences are missing.
– TimeOnline
07/01/2022: In an interview with RND, I called for consequences for the government in Athens for willfully not complying with EU law.
– RND
07/01/2022: EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johanson has called on Greece to end the practice of pushbacks at the EU's external borders.
– Mirror Online
12.06.2022: A traffic accident in Greece injured people seeking protection, one person died.
– APNews
09.06.2022: The competent fire protection authority on Lesvos has warned against the plans of the new camp on Lesvos because it poses a danger to the forestation.
– Politika Lesvos
06/07/2022: A court in Greece has upheld the guilty verdict against the protection seekers who allegedly set the fire at the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos.
– Al Arabiya
06/03/2022: The Greek NGO Refugee Support Aegan reports another case of criminalization of refugees.
– RSA
05/23/2022: Near the island of Rhodes, more than 600 people were allegedly prevented from entering Greek waters by the Greek Coast Guard. Apparently, the coast guard destroyed the drives and thus put the people in danger.
– Newsit
05/15/2022: The NGO Aegan Boat Report reports another pushback in Greece.
– Aegan Boat Report
05/14/2022: The Greek Coast Guard rescued several people from distress off the island of Rhodes.
– ekathimerini
05/07/2022: A court in Baden-Württemberg has declared it unlawful for protection seekers who have protection status in Greece and apply for asylum in Germany to be rejected on the grounds of an inadmissible request for protection.
– Asylum.net
05.05.2022: Nearly 2000 people are stranded on the islands in the eastern Aegean Sea in Greece at the beginning of May.
– scribd
05/03/2022: The Greek Council of Refugees has summarized in a briefing how unequally protection seekers from Ukraine and other countries are treated in Greece.
– GCR
28.04.2022: The newspaper efsyn reports problems with the disbursement of funds from the ESTIA budget that is provided by the EU as support for Greece.
– efsyn
04/21/2022: In a long read for the Guardian, Lauren Markham tried to break down who was really responsible for the fire disaster at the Moria camp on Lesbos.
– The Guardian
04/18/2022: The Greek Council of Refugees reports on the situation of children seeking protection in Greece.
– GCR
04/14/2022: The NGO Mare Liberum has published its "Pushback Report" for the year 2021.
– Mare Liberum
04/07/2022: NGO Human Rights Watch reports how Greece intentionally uses other protection seekers to illegally expel arriving protection seekers.
– HRW
04/07/2022: The Council of Europe calls for urgent action by member states to end human rights violations by pushbacks at the EU's external borders in a report by human rights commissioners.
– Council of Europe
04/01/2022: The European Parliament's Budget Committee has stopped payments due to fundamental rights violations in Greece, making a Frontex deployment in the member state impossible.
– News 247
24.03.2022: In WOZ journalist Franziska Grillmeier wrote about the situation at the EU external borders.
– WOZ
03/17/2022: A 4-year-old child died after a pushback in Greece.
– Twitter
03/17/2022: A Norwegian photographer has photographed a Greek coast guard ship on Lesbos and now has to fear legal consequences because of it.
– VG
09.03.2022: The NGO "Pro Asyl" has summarized in a report how the classification of Turkey as a "safe third country" creates an intolerable situation for many protection seekers in Greece.
– Pro Asylum
03/08/2022: In a joint letter to EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson, 27 NGOs working in Greece call for action against the application of the "safe third country" concept in Greece.
– RSA Aegaen
06.03.2022: In a joint report by osxfam and the Greek Council of Refugees, the authors speak of "de facto" detention in the new camps in Greece.
– oxfam
Feb. 24, 2022: The New York Times has reconstructed the night on the Evros River, where a total of 19 people died after being pushed back from Greece to Turkey.
– NY Times
02/22/2022: The France24 agency reports that refugees recognized in Greece face a high risk of living in poverty despite their legal status.
– France24
02/21/2022: Greek Minister of Migration expresses bafflement at UNHCR allegations of violence at external borders.
– ekathimerini
02/21/2022: According to a statement by Commissioner Fillippo Grandi, UNHCR is very concerned about the increasing violence at the European external borders.
– UNHCR
Feb. 18, 2022: The NGO Fenix Aid reports on Twitter about how asylum seekers in Greece are put through procedures with great time pressure, presumably so that there is as little time as possible for counseling and examination.
– Fenix Aid
Feb. 17, 2022: The Guardian reports on a pushback case in which the Greek coast guard appears to have thrown people directly into the water.
– The Guardian
02/08/2022: In Greece, several machines brought to the islands for the construction of new closed warehouses were set on fire.
– ABC News
Feb. 08, 2022: In a landmark decision, a court in Greece ordered compensation payments after a protection seeker from Syria lost his belongings in a 2016 fire at a refugee camp.
– Twitter
02/03/2022: The NGO "Alarm Phone" reports about a refugee recognized in Germany who is stuck in a prison in Greece.
– Alarm Phone
Feb 02, 2022: Forensic Architecture reports a shelter seeker pushed back six times in six attempts to reach Greek shores.
– Forensic Architecture
02.02.2022: The newspaper "Evros News" reports that 28 people were rescued from an island in the Evros.
– Evros News
02.02.2022: The Guardian reports that 12 frozen bodies were found in the border area between Turkey and Greece on the Evros River.
– The Guardian
01/30/2022: The NGO "Are You Syrious" reports in a special on how to apply for asylum in Greece.
– medium
01/20/2022: Mobile Info Team reports on the suspension of access to asylum in Greece.
– Mobile Info Team
01/18/2022: The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that the statistics of the Greek Coast Guard are in harsh contrast to those of the Ministry of Migration. Over 24000 people are missing.
– New Zurich Newspaper
09.01.2022: Ekathimerini reports that children's corpses were washed up on the Greek islands.
– ekathimerini
01/06/2022: Four bodies have now washed ashore after a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.
– ekhatimerini
Jan 05, 2022: Frontex has requested in a case that the asylum seekers pay the legal costs. The agency is accused of violating human rights in the case.
– statewatch
Dec. 22, 2021: A court in Athens has ruled that the exit ban from the closed camp on Samos for a protection seeker was not lawful.
– Greek Council of Refugees
22.12.2021: In a press release the NGO Legal Centre Lesvos states that the ECtHR has communicated two cases to Greece, meaning that for the first time illegal collective expulsions will be dealt with on this judicial level.
– Legal Centre Lesvos
12/13/2021: The Ombudsman has criticized the Greek government's decision to exclude the NGO Refugee Support Aegan from NGO registration.
– Refugee Support Aegan
08.12.2021: The aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières has criticized access restrictions and living conditions at the Mavrovouni camp on Lesvos.
– Espresso Republica
Dec. 06, 2021: The NGO Fenix Aid has called on the Greek government to reassess asylum seekers rejected due to Turkey's designation as a safe third country, as returns have been suspended for two years.
– Fenix Aid
Dec 03, 2021: Reportedly, up to 60% of those seeking protection in Greek camps do not have enough to eat.
– infomigrants
Dec. 01, 2021: Greek police want to further upgrade the recently completed border fence on the Evros River.
– ekathimerini
11/25/2021: In a joint briefing by Oxfam and the Greek Council of Refugees, the author:s describe how detention is made the default living condition for asylum seekers on the Greek islands.
– Oxfam / Greek Council of Refugees
11/24/2021: The NGO Aegan Boat Report reports a pushback from Kos Island, where it was proven that people had already gone ashore.
– Aegan Boat Report
11/17/2021: Greek journalist Stavros Malichudis was proven to have been under surveillance by the Greek secret service and has now made this public.
– Investigate Europe
16.11.2021: The journalist Franziska Grillmeier wrote for the magazine fluter under which conditions thousands of people in Greece are forced to live in deportation custody.
– floodlight
15.11.2021: The International Rescue Committee describes in a report how independent housing of unaccompanied minor protection seekers can contribute to their protection.
– International Rescue Committee
11/10/2021: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has accused the EU of human rights abuses at the EU's external borders.
– tagesschau
09.11.2021: Dutch journalist Ingeborg Beugel asked questions of the Greek prime minister and has now been reported for this.
– eEkathimerini
08.11.2021: The so-called "Samos2" are charged under confused accusations in Greece, threatened with up to 230 imprisonment. 70 NGOs jointly draw attention to the case.
– Twitter Mare Liberum
05.11.2021: The Greek government wants to extend the border fence on the Evros, which has just been put into operation.
– Ekhatimerini
Nov 05, 2021: The NGO Aegan Boat Report reports on a case in which 36 people were unlawfully detained on an island.
– Aegan Boat Report
05.11.2021: During her visit to the Greek island of Samos, MEP Cornelia Ernst witnessed a pushback.
– efsyn
24.10.2021: Deutschlandfunk reports about the new camp on Samos.
– DLF
23.10.2021: In an exclusive Ippen Investigative Research, the Frankfurter Rundschau reports on the situation in the new camp on the Greek island of Samos.
– FR
10/23/2021: tagesschau has been researching a pushback case at Greece's external EU border.
– tagesschau
22.10.2021: In an interview with ProAsyl, Greek lawyer Yiota Massouridou from Refugee Support Aegan talks about the classification of Turkey as a "safe third country" by the Greek government.
– ProAsyl
22.10.2021: Under the title "Prison in Paradise" the NGO fragdenstaat has summarized the situation around the new camps in Greece in a report.
– QUESTION THE STATE
22.10.2021: The new border fence at the Evros was put into operation.
– evros-news
22.10.2021: The human rights organisation Mare Liberum was prevented by the Greek authorities from leaving to monitor the situation in the Aegean Sea.
– Mare Liberum
21.10.2021: Protection seekers who are brought back to Greece via Dublin returns are in danger of being illegally deported to Turkey. The NGO Refugee Support Aegan has written down why.
– RSA
20.10.2021: Because he was illegally deported by Frontex in 2016, a Syrian is now taking Frontex to the European Court of Justice. A ruling could set the tone for the future.
– tagesschau
10/19/2021: Frontex is sued for pushing back an underage person.
– WeAreSolomon
10/19/2021: The NGO Aegan Boat Report has researched and written up in detail a pushback in Greece.
– Aegan Boat Report
10/18/2021: After 26 NGOs criticized the food situation in the new camps in Greece, the Greek government has now denied the accusations.
– UNHCR
10/15/2021: Die Zeit has published an article on the situation surrounding the pushbacks in Greece and Malta.
– Time Online
10/15/2021: Greece and Malta have called for a fairer distribution of incoming protection seekers in the European Union.
– t-online
08.10.2021: At a hearing between the "United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor" and human rights organizations in Greece, the extent of state criminalization became clear once again.
– HRW
07.10.2021: The NGOs Refugee Support Aegan (RSA) and the Greek Council of Refugees (GCR) appealed against the designation of Turkey as a safe third country before the Administrative Court.
– RSA
07.10.2021: Under the title "Adaptation of the EU legal framework to new realities" twelve member states of the European Union demand that physical barriers at the external borders can be financed by EU funds.
– politico
06.10.2021: For months, a team of investigative journalists researched who is responsible for the human rights violations at the European external borders. You can find the report here.
– Mirror Online
01.10.2021: The Cash Assistance Programme, which supports protection seekers on the Greek islands, has now been transferred from UNHCR to the responsibility of the Greek Ministry of Migration.
– Ekhatemirini
Oct 01, 2021: During a visit to Chios, Greece's migration minister praised his own policies in recent months and spoke about the new closed camps.
– politicalios
09/30/2021: Some European Union member states have made a proposal to legalize pushbacks.
– euractiv
29.09.2021: Despite numerous reports of human rights violations and calls for independent monitoring, Greece's migration minister has said he will not set up any such monitoring mechanism.
– Iefemerida
09/25/2021: A protection seeker from Cameroon and two others were allegedly thrown overboard by Greek border guards.
– AA
24.09.2021: In a newsletter ECRE has written down what is currently wrong at the Greek external borders: pushbacks and closed camps.
– ECRE
15.09.2021: In the September issue of its monthly Lesvos Bulletin, the Greek Council of Refugees has written up the situation of those seeking protection.
– GCR
13.09.2021: The EU Commission demands that the Greek government clarify the pushbacks and set up an independent control mechanism before it continues to pay some millions of EU funds in the area of migration.
– euractiv
01.09.2021: Thousands of children of refugees are actually entitled to attend school, but cannot do so in Greece. The Greek Council of Refugees has written a report on the situation.
– GCR
15.08.2021: The NGO Fenixaid advises protection seekers in Greece during the asylum process. Here she reports on the current effects of classifying Turkey as a safe third country.
– fenixaid
10.08.2021: Journalist Franziska Grillmeier wrote down for Krautreporter how the climate and refugee crises reinforce each other and why this can be observed on the Greek islands.
– herb reporter
07/06/2021: In an interview with Ekathimerini, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis legitimized pushbacks and confirmed them as an ordinary practice of Greek border management.
– Ekathimerini
Jun 29, 2021: The Guardian reports another pushback from the Greek island of Samos to Turkey based on clear evidence.
– The Guardian
28.06.2021: The HR-Inforadio has made a contribution about the situation of protection seekers in Greece. There the conditions in the camps on the islands, the mainland and the mental challenges are discussed.
– HR Inforadio
28.06.2021: The Greek government insists that Turkey take back the approximately 1500 protection seekers who have not yet been deported again due to the Corona measures. Deportations of this kind are a central component of migration policy.
– Ekathimerini
06/26/2021: Because they were freezing in their tents during the winter and they had no access to shelter appropriate for the season, two protection seekers started a fire in Moria camp in 2017. Two men died in the subsequent fire. A court has now found the Greek authorities partially guilty.
– Ekathimerini
06/24/2021: In his analysis, Rory O'Keeffe describes how Greece's decision to declare Turkey a safe third country limits the right to access asylum for those seeking protection.
– Koraki
06/23/2021: Greece has defended its position on granting free movement to protection seekers within the European Union against criticism.
– EUObserver
23.06.2021: Human Rights Watch has presented a new analysis of Frontex's operations at the EU's external borders, concluding that the EU agency is failing to protect people from rights abuses, violence, and torture by member states.
– HRW
22.06.2021: Greece has recently started testing the use of so-called sound cannons against people seeking protection, which are supposed to prevent them from reaching EU soil and applying for asylum. In a commentary on Deutschlandfunk, this is described as a "continuation of the breach of civilisation by other means".
– DLF Culture
22.06.2021: The human rights organisation Amnesty International has published a new report on the situation at the EU's external borders. Violence, lies and systematic pushbacks are part of everyday life, and people are still denied access to an asylum procedure based on the rule of law.
– Amnesty International
21.06.2021: The Ritsona camp on the Greek mainland was recently surrounded by a three-meter high wall. Spiegel TV has filmed a report on the latest "modernizations" of the camps in Greece.
– Mirror TV
18.06.2021: HIAS and Equal Rights Beyond Borders have made a legal analysis of the situation of thousands of people seeking protection at the EU's external borders. They accuse EU policy of depriving people of their future through its externalisation strategy.
– Equal Rights Beyond Borders
06/17/2021: The Greek Council of Refugees and Oxfam report on the situation on the island in the Aegean Sea in their monthly Lesbos Bulletin.
– GCR / OXFAM
16.06.2021: Three asylum seekers have filed a complaint against the European Commission. They allege that their rights are being violated in Greece and that this has been caused by the incorrect transposition and implementation of the EU Reception Directive (2013/33/EU) and the EU Asylum Procedures Directive (2013/32/EU).
– Refugee Support Aegan
15.06.2021: The alleged arsonists of the Moria refugee camp were sentenced in camera. The Guardian comments critically on the trial and the circumstances.
– The Guardian
14.06.2021: Greece recently declared Turkey a safe third country for those seeking protection from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia. People may now be deported there. Now there is criticism of the reasoning.
– efsyn
14.06.2021: The responsible ministers from Austria and Greece plead for a faster implementation of agreements on the readmission of refugees. However, a discussion on distribution can only be held if the migration flows are brought to a halt.
– euractiv
12.06.2021: Nine months after the fire in Moria, a court has sentenced four young men to ten years in prison each. The media and other observers were not allowed to attend the two-day trial. The defendants' lawyers criticized that they had not received a fair trial.
– tagesschau
11.06.2021: Under the title: "Asylum in Greece: A Situation Beyond Judicial Control?" the NGO ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) has published a legal commentary on the situation of asylum seekers in Greece.
– ECRE
10.06.2021: The Greek government has rejected criticism from other EU states that it does not prevent protection seekers from travelling freely within the Schengen area. This is neither legally possible nor feasible.
– Euronews
09.06.2021: The Greek migration ministry has announced that people seeking protection on the Greek islands will not have to survive another winter in tents.
– Newsweek
09.06.2021: 9 months after the fire disaster on Lesbos, the construction works for a new camp have not started despite all announcements.
– Ekathimerini
09.06.201: A new report by the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières summarizes the disastrous effects of EU asylum policies in recent years and criticizes the hotspot approach used in Greece.
– Doctors without Borders
09.06.2021: Samos is a holiday paradise for many people. But the situation for the refugees there is catastrophic.
– Bavarian Radio
08.06.2021: EU Vice President Margaritis Schinas considers the militarization of the border region between Turkey and Greece, including the use of "sound cannons", as an example of the implementation of European values.
– Greek City Times
07.06.2021: Greece now recognizes Turkey as a "safe third country" for protection seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
– Efsyn
04.06.2021: Jonas Grimheden, Frontex's newly appointed Fundamental Rights Officer, makes the case for continuing Frontex's operation in Greece.
– EUObserver
06/04/2021: A total of 147 pushbacks are now being investigated by the Supreme Court in Greece at the initiative of NGOs.
– Racistcrimeswatch
04.06.2021: UNICEF and Greece have unveiled a joint plan for protection seekers to receive their formal education in Greece.
– Reliefweb
04.06.2021: Those seeking protection in Greek refugee camps will now be included in the vaccination campaign.
– EU Observer
03.06.2021: In the night of September 8/9, 2020, the Moria refugee camp burned down. Now 6 people are put on trial who allegedly started the fire.
– Twitter Mare Liberum
03.06.2021: Several EU countries have called on Greece to do something about so-called "secondary migration".
– Politico
06/02/2021: Those seeking protection in Greek refugee camps are now being vaccinated.
– Ekathimerini
02.06.2021: Manos Logothetis (Secretary General for Reception Centres in Greece) has made public that around 30% of those seeking protection in Greek refugee camps have been infected with Covid-19. This is significantly more than in the rest of the population.
– Euronews
05/31/2021: The Greek government has introduced a new law in parliament, one of the aims of which is to deport more people.
– Ekhatimerini
30.05.2021: Many people seeking protection are currently being brought from the Greek islands to the mainland. Many of them end up in the Eleonas camp near Athens, which is now struggling with overcrowding. The living conditions there are so bad that comparisons are already being made with the Moria slum on Lesbos. ARD has taken a look at the situation there.
– ARD report about Eleonas.
28.05.2021: Greek Prime Minister Notis Mitarakis believes that Greece cannot be asked to integrate protection seekers, as border states already bear responsibility for external borders and initial reception.
– EUObserver
26.05.2021: According to WDR journalist Isabel Schayani, there are still access restrictions to the temporary camp Mavrovouni on Lesbos, even for medical emergencies, people have to queue first.
– Twitter Isabel Shayani
19.05.2021: Land has been leased by the Ministry of Migration near Vastria on which the new camp on Lesvos will be built.
– Lesvosnews
18.05.2021: More than 100 people in quarantine at the Mavrovouni refugee camp on Lesvos.
– Deutschlandfunk
17.05.2021: Der Spiegel about the situation of people seeking protection in Camp Ritsona, where Corona escaped.
– Mirror
14.05.2021: Report by journalist Tessa Kran on the situation on Lesbos
– New Germany
12.05.2021: The Council of Europe has accused Greece of using pushbacks to deny asylum seekers access to an asylum procedure.
– Ekathimerini
10.05.2021: WeAreSolomon reports on the "modernization" of Greek refugee camps. Under this guise, the Greek government is selling its plans to put closed, sealed-off camps into practice.
– Solomon
10.05.2021: Frontex carries the wrong age for a person seeking protection. This still has consequences for his health and safety today.
– EU Observer
10.05.2021: A refugee from Iran dies on Chios. A woman has to give birth to her child on the street.
– Keep Talking Greece
07.05.2021: A person has been found dead in a village on the Evros. He probably drowned while trying to cross the Evros.
– Evros News
05/07/2021: Minister Seehofer's deal between Greece and Germany clearly violates existing law.
– Pro Asylum
07.05.2021: A recognized refugee who is not allowed to leave the island of Chios despite his protection status dies in his tent.
– The Guardian
07.05.2021: For Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, the closure of the Kara Tepe camp is an important step. Living conditions in the camp were reasonably good, but those seeking protection were transferred to the temporary Mavrovouni camp, which offers catastrophic living conditions for the people.
– Greek Ministry of Migration
04.05.2021: EU Observer reports on the closure of the last camp with humane living conditions. People were moved to the temporary camp Mavrovouni, where living conditions are catastrophic.
– EU Observer
01.05.2021: Greece builds walls 3 meters high around all camps on the mainland.
– old thess
30.04.2021: 52 years imprisonment for "illegal" entry into Greece from Turkey.
– The Indepent
04/29/2021: Oxfam and Greek Council of Refugees declare the situation on the Greek islands as "de facto detention".
– Infomigrants
29.04.2021: The Greek Ombudsman concludes that he is unable to resolve allegations of pushbacks, partly because his investigations are obstructed by state authorities.
– efsyn.gr
29.04.2021: A total of 620 protection seekers from Kara Tepe camps were transferred to the temporary camp in Mavrovouni.
– Ekathimerini
04/28/2021: The Greek Ombudsman has received dozens of complaints about pushbacks at the Greek-Turkish land and sea border.
– tvxs.gr
27.04.2021: Report on the catastrophic food quality in Greek refugee camps, on Lesbos probably food worth 30.000€ had to be disposed of.
– stosini.gr
27.04.2021: Greek refugee camps will be partially monitored with video cameras from now on.
– algorithmwatch.org
27.04.2021: Several legal NGOs in Greece have asked Commissioner Johansson to comment on her legal assessment of the GR/TUR situation.
– Human Rights 360°
26.04.2021: The International Rescue Committee to relocate people from Kara Tepe to Mavrovouni.
– International Rescue Committee
04/26/2021: Notis Mitarakis accuses North Aegean governor of being to blame for Moria fire in September 2020.
– Notis Mitarakis
25.04.2021: Figures on tenders for the provision of meals in Greece.
– Samos Today
24.04.2021: On Chios protests against the new planned closed camp continue.
– Twitter
24.04.2021: NGO RSA on the closure of Kara Tepe
– NGO RSA
22.04.2021: The works for the new "closed-controlled Centre" on Leros have started.
– Leros News
22.04.2021: The initial reception facility Nea Kavala in the north of Thessanoliki will be surrounded by a 3-meter high fence in the future. You can only get in and out with a special access card. First closed centre in GR.
– eidisis.gr
21.04.2021: Although on Chios the local government has now expropriated the land on which, according to the preferences of the Greek government, the new "closed-controlled Centre" should stand, a tender worth 13 million euros for the construction has been published.
– astraparis.gr
21.04.2021: The Greek government is pushing ahead with plans to expand the RIC on the Evros River despite continued opposition from the local community.
– Evros News
21.04.2021: Oxfam / Greek Refugee Council view the planned closure of Kara Tepe and transfer of people to Mavrovouni camp as very concerning.
– reliefweb.int
19.0.4.2020:
Significantly fewer arrivals on the Greek islands, more people being sent on.
– infomigrants.net
19.04.2021: In a telephone conference with the Portuguese Council Presidency, the Greek government stressed the "necessity of external measures by the EU". What is meant by this is further isolation.
– stonisi.gr
04/15/2021: The Greek government has announced that the "Cash Assistance Program" will only be available to people living in government accommodation from July 2021.
– Greek Ministry of Migration
15.04.2021: In a television interview, the Greek Minister of MIgration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, confirmed that the new camps will be closed and outside urban areas.
– Facebook
13.04.2021: The local parliament on Lesvos has approved the construction of a new "Multi-Purpose Reception and Identification Camp". It is supposed to have a capacity for 3000 people, it is still unclear where it will be built.
– Euronews
09.04.2021: Notis Mitarakis (Minister of Migration and Asylum) has commented on last year's returns and his assessment of the Commission's Asylum Pact proposal.
– amna.gr
Apr 05, 2021 – The meeting between Johansson and Mitarakis will also discuss the border sitzuation.
– stonisi.gr