Deportations to Greece to be stopped in more and more countries after the European Court of Human Rights decided against a deportation

The European Court of Human Rights decided in one single case on Friday, 21st of January 2011, that Greece is violating the human rights of a refugee by detaining him under inhuman conditions and leaving him homeless. It also judged that Belgium violated human rights by deporting him there (see: http://w2eu.net/2011/01/22/front-kick-dublin-2/).

This means:

  • Hundreds of other “Greek” cases waiting for a decision in front of ECHR are expected to be judged in the same way.
  • All countries that already decided to suspend deportations to Greece because of the pending decisions in front of the ECHR, will have to decide if they will examine the asylum cases of the people threatened by deportation to Greece themselves soon.
  • European countries that did not already stop deportations to Greece will have to decide about it soon.
  • This decision will concern people who have been fingerprinted and pink card holders without difference.

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Dublin II with particular focus on Greece

Most refugees don't want to stay in the country where they entered the European Union, for example Greece. If you have an idea about your final destination, some of the following information might be useful for you:
If you have been registered in Greece or any other european country, your fingerprints were taken, either digitally or on paper. The images are usually stored in the European wide "Eurodac" database. As soon as you will claim asylum in any other country of the European Union, the authorities may find out quickly that you have been registered in another country before.

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Dublin II leaflets:

Updated Dublin2-leaflet (June 2011) now available for PDF-download!

So far, we can only provide the English version, please check back for other language versions soon. Can you help translate? Get in touch with us!

PDF Downloads (June 2011):

Austria > Dublin II

Austria has not stopped deportations to Greece. Due to a decision made by the Austrian Constitutional Court in October 2010, deportations of particularly vulnerable persons (unaccompanied minors, elderly people, families with small children, seriously ill persons etc.) to Greece are now more difficult to execute than before. While it used to be possible just to inform the Greek authorities about a planned Dublin II deportation, Austrian officials now have to get an individual acceptance paper from Greece for each person they want to deport.

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Belgium > Dublin II

Belgium stopped deportations to Greece temporary on 10th of October. This decision follows a letter from the ECtHR warning that the Court would systematically suspend any attempt to transfer to Greece. Transfers are so suspended until the judgment of the Court in the MSS case.In the meantime, the asylum claims will be handled in Belgium.These files receive a priority so that the ones who are not refugees are sent back home quickly (same reasoning as in Norway...)

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Denmark > Dublin II

The main rule of the Dublin II Regulation is that your application for asylum is handled by one, and only one, country. The decision is based on in which country you have been registered and had your fingerprints taken the first time. If you meet the police in Denmark or any other EU country the police will take your fingerprints if you are more than 14 years old, and transmit them to a shared database called Eurodac. Deportations to Greece are stopped in Denmark.

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Finland > Dublin II

The Finnish Immigration Service (FIS) has decided to stop returning asylum-seekers to Greece. According to FIS the Greek asylum procedures do not meet human rights standards. The decision follows a key verdict by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Friday, in which Belgium was condemned for violating the rights of an Afghan asylum-seeker when sending him back to Greece.

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France > Dublin II

France stoped deporting asylum seekers to Greece. People who have left their fingerprints in Greece can therefore apply for asylum in France.

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Germany > Dublin II

On 28th of November 2011 the German Ministry of the Interior informed about prolonging the temporary stop of deportations to Greece for another year. This means at least until January 2013 there will be no "Dublin"-deportations from Germany to Greece. Whith the first moratorium that passed already in January 2011 German authorities tried to prevent losing a court case before the constitutional court.

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Hungary > Dublin II

Officially, there are no limits for the return of refugees to Greece. In several cases, however, a high court suspended such deportations and ordered Hungary to carry out the refugee status determination procedure, mostly in the case of families with small children, single women and unaccompanied minors. Adult males’ applications are generally refuted and people are deported to Greece. As the time frame to contest the decision on the transfer is only three days, you should seek legal assistance from lawyers of the refugee assisting NGO, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.

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Italy > Dublin II

In Italy the situation of refugees in Dublin-II cases is difficult, but some lawyers have been successful in avoiding deportation, especially to Greece. Last year, several organizations for refugees’ rights denounced the situation at Adriatic Italian ports, where many migrants are sent back to Greece without any chance to apply for asylum. (This denial of asylum proceedings is not grounded in the Dublin II agreement, but an illegal police practice!).

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Ireland > Dublin II

When asylum seekers arrive in Ireland, they can apply for legal aid in the form of the Refugee Legal Service.  This is subsidized and nominal to the applicant and is subject to a means test.  The Refugee Legal Service, as well as private practitioners, have challenged Dublin II transfers to Greece in the High Court in the form of Judicial Reviews in recent months.  We are still awaiting the decisions of these cases.  In some cases, legal representation have been successful in securing injunctions until a decision is reached on the Judicial Review.

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Ireland > Dublin II

When asylum seekers arrive in Ireland, they can apply for legal aid in the form of the Refugee Legal Service.  This is subsidized and nominal to the applicant and is subject to a means test.  The Refugee Legal Service, as well as private practitioners, have challenged Dublin II transfers to Greece in the High Court in the form of Judicial Reviews in recent months.  We are still awaiting the decisions of these cases.  In some cases, legal representation have been successful in securing injunctions until a decision is reached on the Judicial Review.

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Netherlands > Dublin II

Early October 2010 the Dutch minister of Justice announced that the Netherlands would definitely not send asylum seekers back to Greece. Beginning of February 2011 the minister for Immigration and Asylum decided that “Greek Dublin-II cases” will be dealt with in the Netherlands, so no suspension of the asylum procedures any more. Besides this, the Dutch Supreme Court decided to temporally stop the expulsion of Dublin-II cases to Italy.

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Norway > Dublin II

14/10/2010: The Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) has stopped deportations to Greece until further notice. “The Immigration Appeals Board has decided to honour the request of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to stop forced returns to Greece”, says UNE-director Terje Sjeggestad. All asylum-seekers who have had their applications denied in accordance with the Dublin Regulation, but remain in the country, will be allowed to stay.

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Norway > Dublin II

14/10/2010: The Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) has stopped deportations to Greece until further notice. “The Immigration Appeals Board has decided to honour the request of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to stop forced returns to Greece”, says UNE-director Terje Sjeggestad. All asylum-seekers who have had their applications denied in accordance with the Dublin Regulation, but remain in the country, will be allowed to stay.

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Sweden > Dublin II

A ruling by the Migration Court of Appeal (MCA) stopped all forced returns of asylum-seekers from Sweden to Greece under the Dublin regulations. All the cases concerning Dublin to Greece get their asylum process in Sweden. All the cases are not yet in process but on the way to be processed.

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Switzerland > Dublin II

Swiss halt asylum returns to Greece. The Federal Migration Office is to suspend the return of asylum seekers to Greece, examining cases in Switzerland instead.

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UK > Dublin II

The UK Border Agency suspended returns of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation in the end of September 2010. With immediate effect the backlog of approximately 1300 cases and all new cases will have their applications heard in the UK, and not be deported to Greece. This is a great relief to all those facing return to the “broken asylum system” of Greece.

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