as human rights defenders, against violations even by state authorities and institutions, b) the systematic propaganda and disinformation against persons and organisations that provide protection to asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable persons in general, c) To promote the investigation of all complaints that have been brought to the attention of the competent authorities and concern incidents of illegal redeployments and c) to stop the phenomenon of violations of fundamental human rights that are systematically carried out at the borders of Greece, as well as Europe. The criminal case against HRDs Panayote Dimitras and ABR’s founder Tommy Olsen for exposing violations at Greece's borders, remained pending,189 with Dimitras still under a travel ban. In May, Dimitras and his wife were questioned in a separate investigation into alleged financial misconduct following a 2023 asset freeze. 190 Since 2021 three criminal investigations have been initiated against Samos lawyer Mr Choulis, Head of the organisation Human Rights Legal Project, in relation to smuggling charges. In 2024 the first two were archived for lack of sufficient evidence and the third is still pending. On 11 September 2023, the Athens Bar Association published its interpretation of the Greek Code of lawyers on legal aid provision to newly arrived third-country nationals (TCN) who seek asylum in Greece. The Association states that:191 ❖ “According to the Code, lawyers are public officials and collaborators of the judiciary who defend fundamental rights, comply with the rules of ethics and maintain confidentiality for the benefit of their clients”. ❖ “The lawyers may provide legal assistance to irregularly arriving TCNs to initiate asylum applications. The possibility to apply for asylum cannot be exercised if TCNs do not have the necessary legal assistance during which they can communicate freely and appoint the lawyer as their representative”. ❖ “Migrants often request lawyers not to disclose their location to the authorities as they fear being returned to their countries. In such cases, insofar as they have assumed the responsibility to provide legal assistance, lawyers are bound by their duty of confidentiality even if they have not yet met the TCN in person. In such cases, they cannot be considered as assisting in the unlawful entry of TCNs as lawyers retain the freedom to handle cases without being identified with their clients and their files and may not be subjected to instructions incompatible with the nature of their work”. The Athens Bar Association concludes that it is not allowed to search on physical or digital files of the lawyers or of the phone communications between lawyers and the illegally-entering third country nationals, if those are necessary to fulfil their order under the scope of practising their profession as lawyers. In April 2024, as HRW notes,192 the Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) “warned of a pervasive climate of fear for migrant rights defenders, driven by smear campaigns, harassment, and threats of prosecution for providing humanitarian aid”. More specifically, in a 22 April 2024 statement,193 the GNCHR refers to a session of its committees, during which they held a working meeting with journalists and human rights defenders covering refugee/migration issues. “The participants initially reported that in recent years, in the course of their profession and while covering refugee/migration issues, they have faced difficulties in accessing information and sources due to the refusal of ministries to provide data, often citing privacy or confidentiality reasons. Similarly, they do not have free access to the refugee population hosted in reception and accommodation facilities. The 189 190 191 192 193 Human Rights Watch, Greece: Events of 2024, 2025, available here. See also, HRW, Greece: Migrant Rights Defenders Face Charges - End Judicial Harassment of Migrant Rights Activists; Respect Asylum Obligations, 26 January 2023, available here. OMCT SOS-Torture Network, Greece: Continued judicial harassment of migrants’ rights defender Panayote Dimitras, 14 August 2024, available here. Greece: Athens Bar Association’s interpretation of the Greek Bar Code on guaranteeing the lawyer-asylum applicant relationship without criminalisation, 12 September 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3Ja4TCL. Human Rights Watch, Greece: Events of 2024, 2025, available at: here. GNCHR, Statement on Human Rights Defenders Working in the Field of Refugee/Migration Issues, Athens, 22 April 22 2024, available in Greek here. 56