an islet in the Evros river, complained that they were pushed-back from Greece to Türkiye after the Court’s decision. Most of them entered Greece again and found themselves stranded on the same islet once again.68 These refugees also complained that a young girl had died on the islet from insect bites. After succeeding to reach the mainland on their own, these refugees were formally arrested and registered on 15 August 2022. On 13 August, UNHCR stated that: ‘We continue to be gravely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of some 40 people allegedly stranded on an islet at the Greece-Türkiye border. According to reports received a child has tragically already died. Unless urgent action is taken, we fear further lives remain at stake’.69 The full application before the Court has been submitted by GCR. This specific case attracted the media’s attention, public interest and activated a “public debate” around the facts of the case with many press releases, interviews and statements before the Greek Parliament. However, the case of 38 remains a pushback case70 that the Greek State tries ‘to conceal in the public debate, by shifting the focus from the main issue which is the Greek State’s responsibility for the violent pushback operations. The Government continues to question the role of the Organisations that filed the interim measures before the ECtHR’.71 In its annual review of Greece for 2022, Human Rights Watch stated that Greece regularly ignores an increased number of emergency orders issued by the ECtHR to prevent the summary return of asylum seekers stranded along the borders with Türkiye, being at imminent risk of pushback.72 According to the same source, the Greek authorities accused 73 NGOs of coordinating with smugglers to circumvent border controls by making appeals to the ECtHR to prevent pushbacks in the Evros region, with the authorities reportedly initiating an “investigation” into organisations active in the region. It has been observed 74 that the Greek authorities systematically and flagrantly ignore the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the multiple applications for interim measures it has granted during 2022 and the 32 communicated applications,75 while refusing to respond to the complaints that organised practices, including serious crimes (torture, robbery, endangerment of life), are being carried out at the Greek borders with the aim of deterrence, apparently in the name of “border protection”. On 26 January 2023, the ECtHR delivered its judgment in the case of B.Y. v. Greece, application no. 60990/1476 , which was represented before the Court by GCR, the Network of Social Support of Refugees and Immigrants, the Lawyers’ Group for the rights of Refugees and Immigrants. The Court ruled that there was a violation of Article 3 (the procedural limb of Article 3 in conjunction with Article 13) of the Convention. The case concerned77 a Turkish national who alleged that he was forcibly removed from Greece (Athens) to Türkiye, despite his attempts to claim asylum on the grounds of political opinion. The ECtHR, by a majority of 4 votes, against 3, did not uphold the plea of violation of Article 3 in its substantive part, because, despite the abundance of evidence submitted, the majority of the Court maintained reservations and ultimately concluded that it was impossible to admit the applicant's presence in Greece during the period in question. The Court notes, however, that that failure stems to a large extent from the failure of 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 About the islet’s territorial status, Ministry of Defence stated in written that the islet is divided by a GreekTurkish border line, thus creating a Greek and a Turkish part, Official Letter-Response of the Greek Minister of Defense to the Hellenic Parliament, Answer on the issue of ‘sovereignty on an islet in Evros’, 7 October 2022, https://bit.ly/3BM8F1v and GCR Press Release, Δελτίο τύπου σε συνέχεια και της διευκρίνισης του συνοριακού καθεστώτος της νησίδας στον Έβρο, 12 October 2022, available in Greek: https://bit.ly/3IAnwjs. UNHCR News on Twitter, 13 August 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3ooj5kD. Article of the Director of GCR publishes in ‘Εποχή’ on 08 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3BSbiP6 and https://bit.ly/3WqB1YD. See GCR report at Europe’s Borders: Between Impunity and Criminalization, March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3opKToW. Human Rights Watch World Report 2023, events of 2022, full report available at: https://bit.ly/42YLb4Z , 261. Ibid. ‘Greece: Authorities Ignore ECtHR Interim Measures and Distress Calls as Turkiye Increase Return Efforts of Refugees, Systematic Detention of Asylum Seekers Persists17th June 2022 | News’, available at: https://bit.ly/3QvdaUg; Joint Press Release of 16 civil society organisations Asylum Campaign (Καμπάνια για το Άσυλο), 5 October 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3MTm7qM. RACIST CRIMES WATCH – ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΡΙΟ ΡΑΤΣΙΣΤΙΚΩΝ ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑΤΩΝ, ‘Ξεκίνησαν 32 Ευρωδίκες Ελλάδας για επαναπροωθήσεις – Εκκωφαντική αποσιώπηση από ΜΜΕ’ 23 December 2021, available (in Greek) at: https://bit.ly/3oir2YR. Decision available (in French) at: https://bit.ly/45nE0oF and https://bit.ly/45rVS1O and GCR Press release available (in Greek) at: https://bit.ly/43pnzqh. ELENA; ‘ECtHR: Greece’s ineffective investigation into an asylum seeker’s removal to Türkiye violated Article 3’, 26 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/45rVS1O. 34