According to the Greek Council for Refugees, the applicant, a young woman from Turkey, fled her country due to political persecution. She entered Greece through the Evros region in 2019 seeking international protection. However, she claims she was never given the opportunity to request asylum.
Instead, she alleges that after her arrival, she was informally detained in police stations in the Evros area. Subsequently, she and other third-country nationals were taken to the Evros river, where they were stripped of their belongings, including shoes, mobile phones, and money. They were then forced into an inflatable boat and transported back to Turkey.
Upon her return to Turkey, she was arrested by Turkish authorities and imprisoned due to a previous criminal conviction on charges of being a member of an illegal organisation.
Before the ECHR, the applicant contends that the actions of the Greek authorities violated her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to life, the prohibition of torture, and the right to an effective remedy. Her appeal is being heard alongside the case of G.R.J. against Greece, involving an unaccompanied minor who claims he was abducted from a reception facility in Samos and returned to Turkey by Greek authorities.
Previously, the applicant had filed a lawsuit against the responsible parties, which was rejected by the Thrace Prosecutor of Appeals, citing a lack of evidence against the police and asserting that Greece, particularly the Hellenic Police, does not conduct deportations to Turkey.
In recent years, numerous reports by international, European, and national organisations have documented the systematic nature of pushback operations. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants has stated, “In Greece, pushbacks on land and sea borders have turned into a de facto generalised policy.”
The HRC regularly intervenes with Greek authorities and represents numerous pushback victims before the ECHR. Since January 2022, the HRC has made at least 553 interventions on behalf of over 3,826 refugees, including many children from Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine, who entered Greece through Evros seeking international protection. Additionally, since March 2022, the HRC has represented hundreds of refugees from these countries before the ECHR, filing 60 applications for interim measures (Rule 39) to prevent their removal and ensure access to asylum procedures. In all cases, the Court granted the requested relief.
Despite these interventions, many refugees report being sent back to Turkey while awaiting or even after the ECHR’s decisions.

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