days (from 15 June to 26 June) together
with other groups of asylum seekers44 ,
they were again pushed back to Turkey.
III. Asylum seekers injured by commandos’ attacks on the islet in the
pushback case of 20 April 2022
Date of arrival: 17 April 2022
Date of ECtHR’s interim measures:
21 April 2022
Date of pushback operation: 20
April 2022
Relevant
application(s)
before
ECtHR: K.M.I. and others v. Greece
Alleged Violations of the Convention: Art.2, Art. 3, Art. 5, Art. 13 ECHR
Essential aspects of this case: death
of a woman in need of dialysis on the
islet and miscarriage for a pregnant
woman, 2 asylum seekers severely
injured after beating
Helpless on the islet - death of a vulnerable woman: On 17 April 2022, 39
people seeking international protection arrived on an islet in Evros river by
rubber dinghy. Upon arrival, they were
all in immediate danger lacking access
to food, water, medicine, blankets and
shelter. A 55-year-old Syrian woman
was in urgent need of dialysis. She died
without help or support approximately
one day after arrival on the islet.
Inhuman treatment on the islet: In the
morning of 20 April, after three days
of harsh conditions on the islet, men
dressed in black and dark green, hold-
ing weapons and bats, described by
the asylum seekers as “commandos”,
arrived on the islet and approached
the group. Immediately, the asylum
seekers were subjected to a full body
search and were forbidden to speak.
The “commandos’’ burned some of
the people’s belongings and took their
phones. The “commandos” beat up
members of the group, especially the
men, and pushed a pregnant woman to
the ground. She subsequently suffered
a miscarriage. Thereafter, the asylum
seekers were transported by an unsafe
watercraft to the river bank and transferred to an unknown location.
Informal detention, strip search and
beatings: The men and women were
detained for a day and subjected to a
strip search. On the same day, GCR submitted a request before the ECtHR for
interim measures against Greece. On 21
April, the Court granted interim measures regarding the rescue of the asylum seekers. Unfortunately, in the evening of 20 April, the group had already
been forcibly returned to Turkey following informal detention. Some of the
men were beaten again when they were
transferred from the detention area to
the river before being pushed back.
What happened after the pushback of
20 April: Following the pushback to
Turkey, members of the group were
detained and interrogated by the
Turkish authorities, especially about
the death of the 55-year-old Syrian
woman on the Greek islet.
Some of the refugees of the “S.S. and others v. Greece” case and the “F.R. and others v. Greece” case
and a new group of 18 Syrians of the “M.A. and others v. Greece” case; cases for which the ECtHR had granted
interim measures before people have been pushed back to Turkey.
44
AT EUROPE’S BORDERS: BETWEEN IMPUNITY AND CRIMINALIZATION
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