The European Court of Human Rights, in a landmark ruling Tuesday, found that Greece had illegally deported a woman back to neighboring Turkey and described the use of summary expulsions or “pushbacks” as systematic. The decision at the court in Strasbourg, France could impact how Europe handles migrants at its borders, at a time when Greece and several European Union member states are seeking tougher immigration controls.
A Turkish woman — identified only by her initials A.R.E. — was awarded damages of 20,000 euros ($21,000) after the court ruled that she had been improperly expelled in 2019 after crossing the Greek-Turkish border, having been presented no opportunity to make an asylum claim.
“The court considered that there were strong indications to suggest that there had existed, at the time of the events alleged, a systematic practice of ‘pushbacks’ of third-country nationals by the Greek authorities, from the Evros region (on the Greek border) to Turkey,” the decision said.
Citing a lack of evidence, the court rejected a second claim made by an Afghan man, who said he had been illegally returned to Turkey from the Greek island of Samos in 2020 when he was 15. Greek government representatives at the hearings had denied the allegations, challenging the authenticity of the evidence presented and arguing that Greece's border policies comply with international law.
