Amnesty International (AI) has accused Greece of forcibly returning refugee boats to Turkey and for deporting others who arrive in Greece via land. Greece’s refugee policy has also been criticized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and in US State Department Human Rights reports. AI has appealed to Greece to secure the safety of refugees and stop the forced deportation procedures.
According to AI figures, from 2007 to 2009, Greece granted refugee status to less than 500 refugees from a total of over 70,000 applications.
According to the AI 2009 report on Greece, in October, 160 unaccompanied migrant children were held in the Pagani detention centre on Lesvos island, in degrading, inhumane and unsanitary conditions. Detainees slept on floors, which were permanently flooded due to faulty plumbing, and were rarely allowed outside for exercise. The centre, built to hold 300, accommodated 830 detainees, including mothers with babies.
Commenting on the AI report, the Greek press quoted Nicolas Berger, director of AI’s European Union office in Brussels, as calling on other EU countries to stop “turning a blind eye” to the inadequate asylum system in Greece. “It is clear that Greece is not fulfilling the basic need for protection and the fundamental rights of asylum seekers, and yet countries... keep sending back extremely vulnerable people,” he said