{"id":90368,"date":"2019-10-01T10:56:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T08:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/sciabaca-oruka\/the-game-legal-inspection-in-patras-greece-on-readmissions-of-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-from-italy-to-greece-based-on-summary-procedures\/"},"modified":"2019-10-01T10:56:53","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T08:56:53","slug":"the-game-legal-inspection-in-patras-greece-on-readmissions-of-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-from-italy-to-greece-based-on-summary-procedures","status":"publish","type":"sciabaca-oruka","link":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/sciabaca-oruka\/the-game-legal-inspection-in-patras-greece-on-readmissions-of-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-from-italy-to-greece-based-on-summary-procedures\/","title":{"rendered":"The Game – legal inspection in Patras (Greece) on readmissions of migrants and asylum seekers from Italy to Greece based on summary procedures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Between 26 and 30 June 2019 a team of lawyers and legal professionals, coordinated by ASGI in the context of project Sciabaca<\/em>, went to Patras in order to carry out a legal observation of the local situation concerning readmissions of foreign citizens and asylum seekers from the Italian Adriatic ports to Greece based on summary procedures. <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

For\na large number of foreign citizens Patras is indeed the only route to\nleave the Greek peninsula and reach Italy or continental Europe. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the Italian Government, all returns from Adriatic ports to Greece\nfall within the scope of application of the bilateral readmission\nagreement between Italy and Greece adopted in 1999. Pursuant to this\nagreement, the parties are required to accept the return of migrants\nlacking documents who have irregularly moved from one country to\nanother. In accordance with Articles 6(d) and 23, an exception to\nreadmission can be made in order to ensure compliance with\ninternational treaties on human rights and on the right to asylum\n(such as the 1951 Geneva Convention). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the agreement entered into force in 2001, although readmission\nmust follow formal procedures \u2013 as described in the Executive\nProtocol – and requires a case-by-case assessment (e.g. application\nof the Dublin regulation to asylum seekers or exceptions to\nreadmission under Articles 6 and 23), most returns of foreign\ncitizens from Adriatic ports to Greece seem to follow very informal\nprocedures, thus violating the applicable legal framework. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nOctober 21, 2014, in fact, the ECHR, in the case \u201cSharifi and\nothers against Italy and Greece\u201d case, convicted Italy for\nindiscriminately rejecting a group of asylum seekers to an “unsafe”\ncountry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\nrejecting with no prior examination of the foreign citizens\u2019\nrequest for individual international protection towards Greece – a\nMember State just entered into the EU, repeatedly convicted for\nserious structural deficiencies of its asylum and reception system \u2013\nItaly has infringed three provisions of the European Convention on\nHuman Rights (ECHR): art. 4, Protocol 4 (prohibition of collective\nexpulsions of foreigners); Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or\ndegrading treatment); Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), in\nconjunction with Article 3 ECHR and Article 4, Protocol 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthis context, Greece has also been convicted for breaching Article 13\nECHR in conjunction with Article 3 ECHR for failing to guarantee\naccess to the national asylum procedure to foreign citizens who had\nbeen rejected by Italy or, as a result, that they would not be\nfurther returned to their own countries of origin or transit, which\nin turn are not safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nthe Court’s ruling, Italy continues to reject foreign citizens based\non summary procedures without any individual assessment of the\nconditions of readmitted foreigners. For its part, Greece allows\nreadmissions from Italy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npurpose of this inspection is to monitor the conditions of migrants\nand asylum seekers in Patras, with particular focus on foreigners\nsubject to readmission by Italy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A<\/strong>sylum application procedures<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In\nPatras you can apply for asylum at the Asylum Service. A “skype\ncall” is used to submit the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nAsylum Service of Patras is responsible for the assessment of asylum\napplications from the entire Western Greece area (Western Greece\nOffice). The Asylum Service reports that the Patras office handles\napplications from 5 reception centres in Western Greece. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviews\nare conducted directly at the Patras office, with interpreters on the\nphone from Athens. Finding interpreters can present difficulties,\nthus often meetings can be postponed several times. This can make the\nprocedure much longer – it can take up to two years. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asylum\nseekers met during the inspection reported that the interview for the\nassessment of the application is very short – about 10\/15 minutes.\nThe interview is carried out by the case worker of the Asylum\nService, there is no kind of presence\/support by EASO and UNHRC. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncriteria for assessing vulnerability are quite limited. In fact,\nalthough there is concern for serious health issues or for single\nwomen with children, there is no particularly detailed analysis of\npsychological distress. Furthermore, it is not clear whether or not\nan assessment of potential victims of trafficking is carried out. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nthe person does not show up for an interview with the case worker at\nthe Asylum Service, he or she must provide specific reason therefor\n(e.g. a medical certificate). If no reason for the absence is\nprovided, based on what we have been reported the application for\nasylum has lapsed. In order to continue the procedure, a new\n(repeated) application must therefore be submitted and an assessment\nof eligibility is then carried out. In the assessment of eligibility\nof the repeated application, reference can also be made to\nvulnerabilities in accordance with the same criteria as described\nabove. Unless therefore vulnerability is identified, it appears that\nthe applicant making a repeated application is required to follow\naccelerated procedures. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome and informal fields<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In\nPatras there are no more reception services, other than a children’s\ncentre of the IoM (which hosts less than 20 MSNAs, a number not\nsuitable to satisfy the actual presence of minors in the territory,\nrepresenting a large group of foreigners) and some families housed in\napartments (project initially funded by UNHCR and later – until now –\nmanaged by the municipality of Patras through social services). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local\nassociations report that the decision of the Greek authorities not to\nhave reception services in Patras is a strategic choice, aimed at\navoiding that migrants, asylum seekers and refugees try to cross the\nsea to reach the Italian coast. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nany case, as a strategic point for reaching Italy and northern\nEurope, Patras has been in recent years a focal point for migration\nroutes. In fact, there are many informal camps, where migrants wait\nbefore crossing the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n2018, the Greek authorities addressed the humanitarian crisis in the\nmigrants\u2019 informal camps by means of a police action that\ndismantled more than 500 people living in camps near the port. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\ndate, we have news of at least two informal camps in Patras – namely\ntwo abandoned factories next to the port. In a factory there are\nbetween 40 and 50 people – and in a smaller one less than 10 people,\nwhose number varies based on alternative routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migrants\nliving in informal camps are mostly asylum seekers and they hide\nwaiting to try crossing the sea. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntwo factories are often supervised by the police, who cyclically\nevacuate people and move them away from Patras. We have been reported\nthat police authorities apply punitive measures against migrants who\nstay in Patras – without belonging to a reception project or having a\nregular rental contract – by removing them from the city. If they are\nasylum seekers, they are taken to Athens and left on the street (we\nhave been told that they are left in Victoria Square). If they are\nirregular migrants, they are taken to the identification and\nexpulsion centre in Corinth. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthis reason, the associations dealing with migrants\u2019 protection go\ndirectly to the factories to provide basic services: health, food,\nclothing. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nfor migrants\u2019 nationalities, they are mainly Afghans, but also\nIranians, Iraqis, Kurds and, with respect to a minority of them,\nPakistanis and Bengalis. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Game<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Migrants\nwho stop in the factories in Patras, do so hoping to reach Italy\nthrough one of the ferries that reach the ports of Bari, Brindisi and\nAncona. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof them try to get into the ferries by hiding in the trucks, while\nothers pass the checkpoints with false documents. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greece\nand Italy have a readmission agreement for irregular foreigners.\nHowever, such agreement would not apply to asylum seekers (i.e.\npersons who are already registered as asylum seekers in Greece and\napply again for asylum in Italy) and to irregular foreigners who show\n– once intercepted – their willingness to apply for asylum. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nport security authorities have implemented various controls to\nprevent foreign nationals from attempting to pass through and enter\nthe ferries leaving for Italy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nvehicles are boarded, the port police carry out checks on each truck\n– using officers who inspect the aircraft, dogs who can sniff out the\npresence of humans and if the truck is full through a scanner that\nallows you to view its contents. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asylum\nseekers reported that the check with dogs are carried out again when\nthe vehicles enter the ferry – while the authorities report that the\nchecks stop at boarding. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nrespect to transit with false documents, the check is carried out at\na different place (passenger entry) by the police (not by the border\npolice, as it happens for vehicle checks). We understood that the\nfirst screening is carried out exclusively on the basis of ethnic\nprofiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\na foreigner is found hidden or tries to hide in a ferry, or to pass\nthe checks with false documents – he or she is initially taken by the\nport police to a building – inside the port – where he or she is\ndetained for a short time in order to carry out checks. If he or she\nis an asylum seeker or a refugee, he is taken by the police to Athens\nand left on the street. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nhe is an irregular foreigner, he is taken to an administrative\ndetention centre. We have been told about two detention centers – one\nof which is called Corinth. We have no precise information about the\ndetention time. Our sources told us that usually after a few months\nthe foreigner is released, because there are not enough slots and in\norder to avoid overpopulation foreigners are “simply”\nreleased on the territory. We have also been confirmed that foreign\ncitizens can apply for asylum while detained, but it is not clear who\nis responsible for assessing the application if they leave the\ndetention centre. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nminors are involved (both asylum-seekers\/refugees and irregular) –\nafter initial detention and identification at the premises of the\nport police, they should be taken to specific centres for minors.\nHowever, due to the lack of spots in the MSNA centres, they are often\ndetained “to avoid leaving them on the street without\nprotection”. However, we have been told that the same treatment\n(as described above) also applies to minors due to overpopulation in\ndetention centres. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthe event that a foreigner is found inside a vehicle (usually a\ntruck), the driver is immediately stopped and an investigation is\nopened to find out if there is complicity on his or her part. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthis reason, it is the truck drivers themselves who make sure that\nthere are no foreigners hiding in their vehicles. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nfor migrants who manage to gen into the ferry, when they are\nintercepted and the ship has already left, they are placed in a\ndetention room in the ferry directly by the ship crew. The border\npolice report that the Captain makes a communication in this respect\nto the Italian police. Once in Italy, the police get on the ship,\nidentify foreign citizens, and if they are irregular (i.e. do not\nmeet the conditions for entry or stay in the territory – Article 5\nBilateral Agreement) they are rejected \u2013 thus they remain on the\nsame ship that brings them back to Greece. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nGreek police report that the Italian police issue migrants with a\nreport of rejection, while the border police report that nothing is\nreleased to migrants. We have also been told that the captain of the\nship, once the ship has left, informs the Greek port police about the\nsituation \u2013 and the Greek police waits for the migrant upon arrival\nof the ship at the port of Patras and implements the same procedures\nas described above (detention at the port, document control, transfer\nto Athens or detention in a special facility). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some\nof the associations interviewed told us that once in Italy, foreign\ncitizens are dropped off, and are later rejected and returned to the\nship. They also reported that migrants are not issued with any\ndocuments proving what happened to them. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently,\nthere is no connection between the two police forces – Italian and\nGreek. The ship’s captain is in charge of communications with both\nthe Italian police and the Greek police, which is responsible for\ntheir readmission process. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviews <\/strong> <\/h5>\n\n\n\n

During\nthe mission, we met asylum seekers – hidden in the “factories”\n– most of whom were Afghans. It was difficult to get in direct\ncontact with them, either because of a linguistic issue or because\nwithin these informal detention camps there are also people working\nwith traffickers – and they have not made it possible for us to\nconduct in-depth interviews. Nevertheless, we found 2 cases of\nmigrants declaring that they arrived in Italy on a ferry from Patras\nand were sent back to Greece by the Italian police – who did not\nconsider their status (asylum seekers) and their willingness to seek\ninternational protection. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation of ports in Italy<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The\nalready mentioned decision of the ECHR “Sharifi and others\nagainst Italy and Greece”, condemned Italy for indiscriminately\nrejecting a group of Afghan and Sudanese asylum seekers and an\nEritrean to Greece, considered a “not safe” country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following\nthis decision, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe\ncontinued to monitor its effective and correct implementation. During\nthe meeting of June 2017, the Committee of Ministers asked the\nItalian Government to provide new information on the current\norganization and operation of reception systems for migrants in\nAdriatic ports and on the procedures followed upon arrival at ports,\nin order to assess the revision of previously implemented illegal\npractices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthe Sharifi case, the applicants were handed over by the border\nauthorities to the ferry captains without access to legal\ninformation, language mediation and legal assistance regarding their\nright to apply for asylum and the relevant procedures. Although there\nis a clear decrease in the number of applicants in transit on the\nAdriatic route, since 2018, of 23,370 people that arrived by sea in\nItaly, 12% came from Turkey and 5% from Greece (from Patras and\nCorfu). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, port reception services, aimed at providing legal and linguistic assistance to applicants, are discontinuous and not always present at the arrivals in a stable manner, operating with the “on-call” method. The absence of individuals responsible for guaranteeing correct access to asylum procedures inevitably entails an increased risk of illegitimate readmission of foreigners, of which obviously no trace remains, confirming what was reported during our inspection in Patras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Diletta Agresta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Between 26 and 30 June 2019 a team of lawyers and legal professionals, coordinated by ASGI in the context of project Sciabaca, went to Patras in order to carry out a legal observation of the local situation concerning readmissions of foreign citizens and asylum seekers from the Italian Adriatic ports to Greece based on summary procedures. For a large number … Leggi tutto<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88475,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[],"tags":[],"categoria_sciabaca_oruka":[2363],"sezione2":[],"tag_sciabaca_oruka":[2145],"tipologia":[],"class_list":["post-90368","sciabaca-oruka","type-sciabaca-oruka","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categoria_sciabaca_oruka-publicationsreport","tag_sciabaca_oruka-readmissions","infinite-scroll-item","no-featured-image-padding","resize-featured-image"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480.jpeg",900,1092,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480-297x360.jpeg",297,360,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480-692x840.jpeg",692,840,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480-768x932.jpeg",768,932,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480.jpeg",900,1092,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480.jpeg",900,1092,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480.jpeg",900,1092,false],"homeimage":["https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Patrasso-e1576671273480-400x227.jpeg",400,227,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

Between 26 and 30 June 2019 a team of lawyers and legal professionals, coordinated by ASGI in the context of project Sciabaca, went to Patras in order to carry out a legal observation of the local situation concerning readmissions of foreign citizens and asylum seekers from the Italian Adriatic ports to Greece based on summary procedures. For a large number of foreign citizens Patras is indeed the only route to leave the Greek peninsula and reach Italy or continental Europe. According to the Italian Government, all returns from Adriatic ports to Greece fall within the scope of application of the…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Uncategorized","author_info_v2":{"name":"asgi","url":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/author\/asgi\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sciabaca-oruka\/90368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sciabaca-oruka"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sciabaca-oruka"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sciabaca-oruka\/90368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90368"},{"taxonomy":"categoria_sciabaca_oruka","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria_sciabaca_oruka?post=90368"},{"taxonomy":"sezione2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sezione2?post=90368"},{"taxonomy":"tag_sciabaca_oruka","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tag_sciabaca_oruka?post=90368"},{"taxonomy":"tipologia","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dev.asgi.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tipologia?post=90368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}