Greece’s Council of State has ruled that migrants and refugees who have applied for asylum should be able to move freely until the authorities decide on their status.
Legislation based on the legal ruling will go before the Greek parliament this month. This new move does not apply to applicants who are already in Greece, but to new arrivals.
The Fourth Section of the Council of State accepted by a majority the appeal of the Hellenic Council for Refugees and annulled the decision of the Director of the Asylum Service, no. 10464 / 31.5.2017.
With the decision in question, restrictions had been imposed on the movement of those refugees who had arrived on the six islands that have registration centers for migrants, namely Lesvos, Kos, Leros, Chios, Rhodes and Samos.
The judges of Greece’ highest administrative court considered that the Asylum Service’s decision was insufficiently substantiated. The refugees and migrants had to stay on the islands based on the EU-Turkey deal of March 2016, according to which those who had arrived illegally would be sent back to Turkey in exchange of Syrian refugees.
As a result of the agreement, migrants and refugees spent months in registration centers, overcrowded due to the time it took to process applications. This was generating problems, culminating in clashes among asylum seekers of different nationalities or with the police.
According to the judges, these restrictions affected the basic rights of refugees, while at the same time creating serious problems in local communities.
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