The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Greece for breaching the right to life in the case of a minor Iraqi refugee who was fatally shot by a member of the Greek Coast Guard on the island of Symi in August 2015, according to the organisation Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).

The case, Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v. Greece, highlights serious failures by Greek authorities. Marianna Tzeferakou, one of RSA’s lawyers representing the case, stated

“In this case, a 17-year-old refugee boy was killed because the protection of the lives of those on board was not the primary goal of the coast guard. This decision is not about an isolated incident. In this case, as well as in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings in Safi and others, Alkhatib and others, people, including children, lost their lives because Greece violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), specifically its obligation to protect and respect human life regardless of nationality, religion, legal status, etc., and its duty to properly investigate such allegations. Other pending cases before the ECtHR concerning coastguard operations, including pushbacks, as well as the ongoing investigation before the Greek prosecutorial authorities regarding the deadly shipwreck off Pylos, highlight the same fundamental violation by the Greek authorities.”

The RSA also pointed out that other ongoing cases before the European Court of Human Rights, as well as investigations into the deadly shipwreck off Pylos, expose the same fundamental failures by Greek authorities.

Key findings of the court

The European Court ruled that Greece had violated the right to life (Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights). It found that:

  • Protecting the right to life of the passengers on the yacht was neither among the objectives nor a priority of the operation conducted by the coast guard authorities.
  • The case file does not indicate that, prior to the commencement of the operation, it was subject to proper preparation or specific oversight.
  • The practice of opening fire in such situations, especially on an overcrowded yacht with people in a state of panic, is extremely dangerous.
  • The Coast Guard failed to account for the possibility of other passengers being on board and therefore did not exercise the necessary diligence to ensure the minimization of risk to life.

Regarding the investigation, the Court criticised the serious flaws in the national inquiry, noting that evidence was lost, compromising the effectiveness of the investigation and preventing those responsible from being held accountable.

The case, jointly represented by RSA and the German human rights organisation PROASYL, underscores systemic failures in how the Greek Coast Guard conducts operations and investigates human rights violations at sea.

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