Press release – Freedom for Homayoun
Homayoun Sabetara has been innocently kept in prison in Greece for more than three years. Like thousands of others, he is unlawfully accused of driving his own getaway car across the Greek border to apply for asylum. Ahead of his appeal trial on 24 September, 70 organizations, including LeaveNoOneBehind, Borderline Europe and Sea-Watch, are calling for his release and an end to the criminalization of refugees in Europe.
Pylos is not an isolated case! – Q&A on July 3 at 6 pm with the lawyers of Human Rights Legal Project, Samos
Want to learn more about how the incredible team of lawyers, and activists on Samos are tackling border violence, pushbacks, human rights violations and unlawful arrests of refugees? Come to our Q&A on July 3rd at 6pm and meet Dimitris and Ioanna, two of the lawyers of HRLP and the Pylos Defense Team!
The shipwreck of Pylos – 1 year on
One year after the deadliest shipwreck in the Aegean to date and in the history of migration to Europe in recent years, we are not only looking back on a year of incomplete and insincere processing of the events. Also, the grueling legal proceedings against the 9 defendants who were held responsible for the disaster are coming to an end.
Human Rights Legal Project
The Human Rights Legal Project (HRLP) is a legal aid organisation that combats human rights violations against refugees in Greece through legal representation, advocacy and public relations work and takes action against the criminalisation of refugees at the EU's external border.
SAMOS – Human Abysses in the Shadow of the World’s Public: The “Prison Camp” in Zero
On 10 April 2024, the EU Parliament adopted the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) - a dark day for Europe and human rights. However, parts of what the reform will soon bring have long been a bitter reality. For example, the "prison camp" for arriving refugees on the Greek island of Samos.
Parea Center Lesvos
Since the burning of Camp Moria, the Greek island of Lesbos has all but disappeared from public view. But still more than a thousand refugees are trapped on the island - and are held in prison-like conditions for months and years. Europe Cares consists of a permanent staff as well as volunteers from the camp who run the Paréa Center. Refugees receive hot meals there daily and can take advantage of various free assistance services offered by our partner organizations, such as legal advice, language courses, clothing and psychological counseling. Paréa Lesvos provides an important retreat for the refugees and hosts 10 other aid organizations. The center is located in the immediate vicinity of the camp on Lesvos and is visited daily by 200 to 400 camp residents.
Mare Liberum
Mare Liberum documents human rights violations and border violence against people on the move in the Aegean Sea. On the life-threatening escape route between Turkey and Greece, migrants are regularly pushed back by the authorities using violent methods to prevent them from reaching Europe. By publishing testimonies, Mare Liberum makes the voices of affected people visible and fights collectively for the strengthening of basic human rights. By collecting and publishing data on the general situation in the Aegean Sea, the pressure on the relevant authorities to ensure that human rights are respected is increased.
STELP
STELP e.V. is a non-profit organization from Stuttgart and supports in crisis areas with a network of volunteers, partners and sponsors through fast and direct access to food, sanitary products, clothing and clean water. With projects on three continents, STELP's long-term goal is to sustainably improve the lives of people in need by helping them to help themselves. For LeaveNoOneBehind, STELP e.V. provided rapid emergency aid in Camp Lipa after a fire broke out there. On site, they provided people with necessities including sleeping bags, blankets, cooking pots and food packages. At the same time, STELP has increased capacity for teaching on the ground in Lesvos in cooperation with the School of Peace and delivered more than 500 tons of relief supplies to Ukraine and the embattled areas. Donations and funding is used to finance further aid transports and to purchase urgently needed relief supplies. Besides, STELP is working specifically on the immediate evacuation of people from Ukraine, which is directly funded by the grant.
Mushkila Kabira
Mushkila Kabira is the English transliteration of an Arabic phrase meaning ‘big problem’. This is the phrase its founders heard when they began volunteering in Greece, and it's the perfect way to introduce what sparked the creation of the Mobile Info Team itself. Mobile Info Team is a volunteer organization that provides information to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Greece and other European countries about the asylum procedure and other relevant issues. The team also supports individual cases, mainly in family reunifications, but also, for example, in the preparation for the asylum hearing or applications for integration measures. In addition, Mobile Info Team collects testimonials from asylum seekers to support their rights through public relations.
Infomobile Greece
Infomobile is an anti-racist direct democratic organization with people from different backgrounds that has been active in Greece for more than a decade. They meet people walking in the streets, squares and outside the camps, both on the Aegean islands and on the mainland. They share and exchange information in non-hierarchical meetings and create resources that are freely shared. Also they support individuals with legal advice and, in emergencies, legal aid to fight against discriminatory and dysfunctional procedures and repressive laws that put people behind bars, hinder access to international protection and shelter, expose children to dangers that keep families and regular residents apart with no prospects for the future. The focus of their work is to support the struggle of those who come to Greece for their right to stay and legal ways out of Greece, such as family reunifications.