EIT: Kreikka rikkoi kolmea ihmisoikeussopimuksen artiklaa kun turvapaikanhakija palautettiin Turkkiin ilman turvapaikkahakemuksen tutkintaa

“Pushback” of Turkish national to Türkiye without examining risks she faced on her return was in breach of Convention

In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of A.R.E. v. Greece (application no. 15783/21) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

• a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the applicant’s “pushback” to Türkiye. The Court considered that there were strong indications to suggest that there had existed, at the time of the events alleged, a systematic practice of “pushbacks” of third-country nationals by the Greek authorities, from the Evros region to Türkiye. In this connection, it noted that the applicant had been sent back to her home country, Türkiye – from which she had fled – without carrying out a prior examination of the risks she faced in the light of Article 3 of the Convention or, therefore, taking account of her request for international protection.
• a violation of Article 5 §§ 1, 2 and 4 (right to liberty and security) on account of the applicant’s detention prior to “pushback” to Türkiye. The Court took the view that the applicant’s informal detention had been a preliminary to her “pushback” and lacked any legal basis.
• a violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy), read in conjunction with Articles 2 and 3 (risk to life and ill-treatment during “pushback”). The Court held that the national legal system did not provide an effective remedy, including in respect of alleged violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention during a “pushback”.

The Court further held, by a majority (6 votes to 1), that there had been no violation of Articles 2 and 3 (risk to life and ill-treatment during “pushback”), taking the view that the applicant had not produced any prima facie evidence to substantiate her allegations.

In addition, the Court has today delivered an inadmissibility decision in the case of G.R.J. v. Greece (application no. 15067/21) – which concerned the alleged “pushback” of an Afghan national from Greece to Türkiye – in which it considered that the applicant could not claim victim status for the purposes of Article 35 of the Convention since he had failed to provide prima facie evidence of his presence in Greece or of his “pushback” to Türkiye from the island of Samos on the dates alleged.

Press release