Soon after, in June 2022, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, carried out an official country visit to Greece from 13 to 22 June 2022 following an invitation from the Greek government. In her statement on preliminary observations, it was noted that: ‘the nature of cooperation between the Government and civil society, and the overall perception about the role of civil society and human rights defenders in Greece, has undergone a significant shift since 2019. Since then, human rights defenders have found it increasingly difficult to carry out their work, especially in fields that might be considered controversial or geopolitically complicated or sensitive. This is particularly tangible in relation to those who defend the rights of asylum seekers, migrants and refugees, including those providing humanitarian assistance, legal aid, participating in search and rescue operations and documenting pushbacks. While previously human rights defenders in these areas had enjoyed an overall conducive environment for carrying out their activities, the current policy framework, that emphasises ‘security’ over humanitarian assistance, has led to a number of constraints’; ‘[A] sense of pervasive fear […] is felt by a significant segment of human rights defenders, which seems to be a direct result of the criminalisation of migration and their legitimate, peaceful work for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants’. As highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, ‘human rights defenders promoting and protecting the rights of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, including human rights lawyers, humanitarian workers, volunteers and journalists, have been subjected to smear campaigns, a changing regulatory environment, threats and attacks and the misuse of criminal law against them to a shocking degree’’.142 The Campaign for Access to Asylum,143 in an announcement on 5 October 2022, underlined that: ‘The authorities’ systematic use of misinformation regarding "false reports on pushbacks" aims to cover up illegal practices and to target and put pressure on people and organisations that report these incidents’ and added that ‘…The incident in Evros highlighted the problem of pushbacks in a multitude of ways. Systematic propaganda and misinformation about these practices, which often result in the loss of human lives, is aimed at concealing the truth, obscuring the consequences (deaths, drownings, violence, etc.) and, of course, at targeting lawyers, organisations, as well as media and journalists who report these incidents’. Later, in January 2023, regarding charges against 24 human rights defenders who were helping to rescue migrants in distress at sea off Lesvos island, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants stated that: ‘[t]rials like this are deeply concerning because they criminalise life-saving work and set a dangerous precedent. Indeed, there has already been a chilling effect, with human rights defenders and humanitarian organisations forced to halt their human rights work in Greece and other EU countries’.144 On 13 January 2023, the espionage charges were dropped by the Court.145 On 30 January 2024,146 in a new trial, the accused were found not guilty on the misdemeanours and the criminal proceedings for the felonies remain pending. 142 143 144 145 146 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor - Visit to Greece (A/HRC/52/29/Add.1), available at: https://bit.ly/43n0hS1, para. 114. Joint Press Release of 16 civil society organisations, Asylum Campaign (Καμπάνια για το Άσυλο) - It is the Greek Government’s responsibility to immediately put a stop to informal forced returns (pushbacks): They endanger human lives and breach the state’s international obligations, 5 October 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3MTm7qM. ‘My concerns were compounded by accounts I received during my country visit to Greece in June 2022 detailing how fear of criminalisation has spread among human rights defenders working in the field of migration in the country. As I underlined in my preliminary observations following the visit, solidarity should never be punished and compassion should never be put on trial’: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Human rights defenders on trial in Greece, 9 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3MVFVtp France24, Greek court drops spying charges against migrant rescuers, 13 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3BQKu1R. The Press Project, «Μεγάλη νίκη στη Μυτιλήνη: Αθώοι για τα πλημμελήματα οι 16 ανθρωπιστές – «Μετά από 6 χρόνια, επιτέλους αποδόθηκε δικαιοσύνη», 30 January 2024, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3xDvzsP. 47