******
PRESS RELEASE
WITCH-HUNT
AGAINST DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN COMPLETE REVERSAL OF REALITY
Athens, 19 December 2022
European and international human rights
monitoring bodies record systematic and continuous complaints regarding pushbacks
(which are always illegal) of refugees at Greece’s borders. These
complaints have become commonplace[1];
yet, instead of being investigated, the people and the organizations who
denounce them and address the competent bodies are themselves targeted and
accused of criminal charges.
In
an unprecedented reversal of reality and in a context of systematic
disinformation and propaganda against individuals and civil society organizations
that dominates the vast majority of Greece's media, these very persons are
accused of allegedly illegal criminal activities, when their purpose is to
provide protection to refugees, carrying out exactly their work.
The most recent target is Panayote Dimitras,
known for defending human rights in Greece for many decades. Panayote Dimitras is
accused of having "set up a criminal
organization with the purpose of receiving data of third country nationals who
attempt to enter Greece illegally, in order to facilitate their illegal entry
and stay, sending to the authorities their full details and their exact
location in the country, in order for them to be subject to asylum procedures".
Specifically,
he is called for interrogation before the Investigating Magistrate of Kos on
20/12/2022 in response to the above charges, which are classified as felonies. The
charges are brought with the aggravating circumstances of commission "by profession, as the infrastructure he has
created (namely the operation of the organization Greek Helsinki Monitor) demonstrates
an intention of repeated commission of the act and for profit".
The incident for
which Panayote Dimitras is accused of the above criminal charges concerns the
entry into Greece on 13/07/2021 of an asylum seeker, who is in fact accused of
being the leader of the criminal organization. This asylum seeker’s only
illegal activity was entering Greece alongside other passengers in a boat. The
same asylum seeker had previously appeared on the BBC in a report on pushbacks
entitled "The EU countries "pushing back" asylum seekers at sea"[2], which was
coincidentally published on the same day (13/07/2021), denouncing two previous pushbacks,
one of which was recorded on a video that was published on 10/06/2021 by the Facebook
page of the Aegean Boat Report organization, which also systematically
denounces incidents of pushbacks in the Aegean and whose main representative, Tommy
Olsen, is also accused of being a member of the same alleged criminal organization.
This
particular BBC report was publicized widely and received a lot of attention[3].This caused
the Minister of Migration to react; who, as usual, denounced the accounts as
completely unfounded[4], despite the
fact the incidents were confirmed by videos. The Minister cited the fact that
many cases of alleged pushbacks had been investigated by European Union
institutions and in their reports, no violation of European rights had been
recorded. This was of course before the OLAF report was published following an
investigation into Frontex, which revealed that Frontex, a European agency, was
tolerating if not complicit in carrying out pushbacks. Due to pressure
following these revelations, Frontex’s director Fabrice Leggeri, resigned.
In the case
currently in question, Panayote Dimitras acted in accordance with the aims of
the organization of which he is a founding member since 1993[5], namely the
support of human rights. He sent the Greek authorities information about the
presence of asylum seekers in Greek territory, as well as the will of those
asylum seekers to be subject to asylum procedures, i.e. asking for their
protection claims to be registered and the legal procedures applied.
As the
spokesperson of his organization, he monitors the observance of human rights by
collaborating with the competent bodies of the UN, the Council of Europe and
the European Union. Panayote Dimitras is a member of the Board of Directors
of the European Network for the Enforcement of ECtHR Judgments (EIN)[6] , as well as
a member of the General Assembly of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)[7] .
On the
specific issue of pushbacks, it is known that the Greek Helsinki Monitor has
submitted multiple complaints to the competent prosecutors[8], the Greek Ombudsman[9], as well as
the police. The purpose is always to denounce the relevant incidents and
support the victims of these actions in their efforts to address competent
authorities and bodies.
None of the
above would be of concern, if they were not part of a generalized trend,
amounting to the targeting of organizations, workers and volunteers who defend
asylum cases, denounce serious rights violations, pushbacks or simply provide
humanitarian assistance. This witch-hunting has created a general climate of
suspicion, which foments attacks by extreme racist groups. Lengthy legal
battles against serious unsubstantiated charges are also a concern, as already
observed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, following a
special hearing of many of those already accused or threatened with similar
charges[10] .
The hostile
context outlined above is intensified by recent incrimination from officials against
organizations with unknown sources of funding and connections with MEPs,
lobbyists and journalists, "who
systematically circulate abroad images against our country"[11], thus
contributing to the general climate of suspicion against organizations that
have been operating legally and honestly for years.
The above
context – harassing and criminalizing organizations and individuals defending
human rights - does not only concern Greece, but also the competent
institutions of the European Union. Despite the revelations regarding the tolerance
if not the participation of Frontex in repeated pushback incidents[12], the
European Union institutions remain silent. This contributes to the cover-up of systematic
human rights violations committed at the borders of European Union countries,
especially in the Balkan Peninsula and the Aegean.
Though we
expected the competent bodies and institutions, as well as the judiciary, to
investigate the complaints of human rights violations that have come to light, instead
we are witnessing accusations against the people and organizations that are
active at the country's borders. Those accused are receiving reports and
testimonies of pushbacks against refugees and migrants, which, as they should,
they make public and bring to the attention of the competent authorities.
In this
context, the Campaign for Access to Asylum and the organizations co-signing
this press release call for:
·
A stop to the persecution of those individuals and organizations
who act in their role as defenders of human rights, against violations by state
authorities and institutions.
·
A stop to the systematic propaganda and misinformation against
persons and organizations providing protection to asylum seekers, refugees and
vulnerable persons in general.
·
The investigation of all allegations brought to the attention of
the competent authorities concerning cases of illegal refoulement.
·
A stop to the phenomenon of violations of fundamental human rights
that are systematically committed at the borders of Greece and Europe.
CO-SIGNATORIES (in alphabetical order)
ARSIS Association for the Social Support of Youth (http://arsis.gr)
Chios Solidarity (https://www.facebook.com/chiossolidarity)
Equal
Rights Beyond Borders (https://equal-rights.org)
Fenix
Humanitarian Legal Aid (https://www.fenixaid.org)
Greek Council for Refugees (http://www.gcr.gr)
Greek Forum of Migrants (https://www.migrant.gr/)
Greek Forum of
Refugees (http://www.refugees.gr)
Greek Housing Network (https://greekhousingnetwork.org/)
Greek Helsinki Monitor (https://greekhelsinki.wordpress.com)
Hellenic League for Human Rights (https://www.hlhr.gr)
HIAS (https://www.hias.org/where/greece)
HumanRights360 (https://www.humanrights360.org/)
Lawyers for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants (http://www.omadadikigorwn.blogspot.com)
Legal Centre Lesvos (https://legalcentrelesvos.org)
Network of Social Support for Refugees and Migrants (http://migrant.diktio.org)
Positive Voice (https://positivevoice.gr/)
Refugee Biriyani & Bananas (https://www.refugeebiriyanibananas.org)
Refugee
Legal Support (RLS) (https://www.refugeelegalsupport.org)
Refugee
Support Aegean (RSA) (http://rsaegean.org/el)
Service Civil International-Hellas (https://www.sci.gr/)
"To Mov" Panhellenic Women's Rights Association (http://tomov.gr)
World without Wars and Violence (https://www.kosmosxorispolemous.gr/)
---------------
ANNEX OF SOURCES DOCUMENTING CASEW OF REFOULEMENT
§
The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR);[13]
§ The
International Organisation for Migration (IOM);[14]
§ The United
Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED);[15]
§ The United
Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC);[16]
§ The United
Nations Human Rights Council;[17]
§ The United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD);[18]
§ The United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants;[19]
§ The United
Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders;[20]
§ The Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights;[21]
§ The European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT);[22]
§ The Frontex
Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO);[23]
[1]An annex with the relevant sources is provided at the end of this
document.
[8]Indicatively: Racist Crimes Watch 04/05/2021 "Criminal
complaint to investigate 147 incidents of illegal, violent, racist refoulement
or deportation of 7000+ foreigners during March - December 2020" available
at https://bit.ly/3Ywyrkkand Racist Crimes
Watch 21/07/2021 "200+ illegal refoulement cases of about 10000 foreigners
investigated by the Supreme Court Prosecutor's Office and Citizen's Advocate
following appeals by the EAPC" available at https://bit.ly/3V2BE8d
[9]Greek Helsinki Monitor 21/04/2021 "Complaint to the Ombudsman
calling for the investigation of 147 cases of illegal, violent, racist pushback
or deportation of 7000+ foreigners in March-December 2020" available athttps://bit.ly/3G2jfEw
[11]Press release of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum 14/12/2022:
"Mitarakis from Parliament: There is an embrace of NGOs with MEPs and
journalists who circulate images against our country" available in:https://bit.ly/3W5V9yj
[12]The Guardian 14/10/2022 "EU border agency accused of serious
rights violations in leaked report" available: https://bit.ly/3uXn8UT
[13]UNHCR, 'UNHCR warns of increasing violence and human rights
violations at European borders', 21 February 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/39Md9L4; 'UNHCR concerned by pushback reports, calls
for protection of refugees and asylum-seekers', 21 August 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3xNCV9O.
[14]IOM, 'IOM Alarmed over Reports of Pushbacks from Greece at EU
Border with Turkey', 11 June 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/39GXQDi.
[15]CED, Concluding observations on the report submitted by Greece,
CED/C/GRC/CO/1,12 April 2022, paras 28-31, available at: https://bit.ly/3OwtTVh.
[16]CRC, 'Experts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Ask
Greece about Roma Children and Push Backs of Refugees at the Border', 4 May
2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3xDCsqA.
[17]UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the
Universal Periodic Review: Greece, A/HRC/49/5, 6 January 2022, paras
130.96, 130.202, 130.204, 130.209, 130.214, 130.215, 130.216, 130.223, 130.226,
available at:https://bit.ly/3tSxghE.
[20]UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, 'Statement on
preliminary observations and recommendations following official visit to
Greece', 22 June 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3tSwZLB.
[21]Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, 'Greek
authorities should investigate allegations of pushbacks and ill-treatment of
migrants, ensure an enabling environment for NGOs and improve reception
conditions', 12 May 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3OclKptStatement of Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights, DunjaMijatović 21-10-2021 European states must stand up
against pushbacks and the attempt to legalise them available at: https://bit.ly/3BCMifd, Statement of DunjaMijatović, the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights 7 April 2022 Pushed beyond the limits.
Urgent action needed to stop pushbacks at Europe's borders available at: http://bit.ly/3WnsAMd
[22]CPT, 'Council of Europe's anti-torture Committee calls on Greece
to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks', 19 November
2020, available at: https://bit.ly/39FChmQ.
