Date of arrival: 11 and 12 March 2022 Date of ECtHR’s interim measures: 16 March 2022 Date of final pushback stage: 12 March 2022 Relevant application(s) before ECtHR: A.A. and Others v Greece Alleged violations of the Convention: Art. 2, 3, 13, 5 ECHR Essential aspects of this case: forced placement of asylum seekers on the islet by the Greek authorities, drowning of a 4- year old boy during the pushback operation Image 2: Google maps, GPS Coordinates: 41°41’07.8”N 26°26’14.4”E, as shared by the asylum seekers Overview: This is the first case of interim measures being granted, ordering the rescue of a group of asylum seekers stranded on an Evros islet after the Greek authorities had gathered them from various locations of the Evros region in the Greek mainland, had placed them there and abandoned them. The case concerns 30 Syrians who entered Greece on 11 and 12 March 2022 as part of different groups of asylum seekers and were subsequently grouped together for the pushback operation. They had all been victims of previous pushback operations. The asylum seekers were confined for 7 days on the islet after being placed there by the Greek 14 authorities on 12 March. The organizations that represented their case were informed of their situation on 14 March by the newspaper Efsyn. The organizations repeatedly appealed to the competent authorities for the rescue of the group, but without success. Serious risks to life on the islet: The asylum seekers, including one pregnant woman and six children, did not have access to water, food, medical care, or items to keep them warm. For days, they were exposed to cold and humid weather on a small islet in the Evros river. In a video sent to their lawyers, it is reported that they were eating garbage left on the islet by those who had previously followed this route. They reported the tragic drowning of the 4-year-old son of one of the refugees. On 16 March, the ECtHR granted interim measures and ordered the Greek authorities to rescue the asylum seekers. Informal arrest and detention and forced placement on an Evros islet: According to the various testimonies of the asylum seekers, all 30 Syrians entered the Greek territory in the Evros mainland as members of different groups on 11 and 12 March. They were informally arrested by policemen dressed in black wearing full face masks. They were all led either by foot or in cars and police buses into an abandoned building with 2 rooms and without toilet facilities that was used as an informal detention site. Inside the building, there were more informal detainees, all Syrian refugees previously informally arrested in different places. Unidentified men dressed in AT EUROPE’S BORDERS: BETWEEN IMPUNITY AND CRIMINALIZATION