ATHENS (AFP) – When dozens of asylum seekers were stranded on the Greek-Turkish border in July, lawyer Evgenia Kouniaki never imagined taking on their case would lead to her quitting her NGO in protest at perceived government pressure.
But in a country determined to reduce migration from neighboring Turkey, rights groups are facing increasing hostility with some campaigners stepping away from the struggle.
Kouniaki told AFP there was once up to ten people in Evros region helping victims of controversial “pushback” tactics allegedly used by Greek border forces to return migrants to Turkey. Athens denies their use.
“Now we are fewer and fewer,” she said complaining that she has received less legal work because of her involvement in the sensitive case of the Syrian migrants.
Some 50 humanitarian workers are currently facing prosecution in Greece, following a trend in Italy which has also criminalized the provision of aid to migrants.
“Greek authorities are engaging in a witch-hunt targeting refugees, but also their defenders,” sixteen rights groups said last month.
The organizations, which included prominent NGOs Refugee Support Aegean, the Greek Council for Refugees and the Greek League for Human Rights, called on the country’s authorities to stop “undermining and demonizing” migrant support groups.
Despite in-depth investigations by media and NGOs, alongside abundant testimony from alleged victims, Greek authorities have consistently denied pushbacks.
Greek officials have meanwhile kept up verbal attacks on asylum support groups.
“As a Greek... I will not work with NGOs that undermine the national interest,” deputy migration minister Sofia Voultepsi told state TV ERT in September.
Greece’s conservative government, elected in 2019, has vowed to make the country “less attractive” to migrants.
Part of that strategy involves extending an existing 40-kilometre wall on the Turkish border in the Evros region by 80 kilometers.
An additional 250 border guards are to be deployed in the area by the end of the year.
But at the Evros River itself, the natural border between Greece and Turkey, refugees continue to make their way to Europe.
Humanitarians rarely have access to the militarized area, patrolled by police, Greek soldiers and European border control agency Frontex.