Equal Rights Beyond Borders

Ahmed* was just 16 years old when he arrived in Greece seeking safety. Instead, he was arrested and prosecuted as an adult for (allegedly) smuggling 128 people.
From the very beginning, he told the authorities he was a minor. Yet, he was treated as an adult, and improper age assessment procedures were used, ignoring the safeguards that are meant to protect children.
Despite this, every authority that later came into contact with him recognized him as a child.
Only after obtaining an official birth certificate, and after persistent legal efforts, did the court finally accept his minority and refer his case to the Juvenile Court.
This decision is an important step. But it came after a long and unnecessary struggle.
Ahmed’s case is not isolated. Across Greece, unaccompanied minors are being prosecuted as adults, while critical legal safeguards are overlooked.
Children should never have to prove their childhood in court.

We stand with Ahmed and with every child facing criminalization.

👉 Support our work to end the criminalization of people on the move (link in bio).

10 years in 10 months: throwback to 2017 & the origins of Equal Rights‘ work for the right to family reunification.

This month, we are focusing on a topic that has shaped our work from the very beginning: family reunification. Since the early years, Equal Rights has been deeply engaged with this right. Shortly after starting our work on the Greek “hotspot” island of Chios, where we opened our first office in 2017, we realized that one of the biggest problems was that people were stuck on the island, with no way forward and no way back. At the same time, many of those arriving in Greece have family members in Germany or other EU Member States, and therefore have the right to be reunited with them under the Dublin III Regulation.

In this way, we have been able to help ensure that people seeking protection, who are often separated from their families involuntarily and through violence, can be reunited. In many cases, this was also the only way to leave the inhumane conditions on the islands.
For a long time, the procedure between the Greek and German authorities took place without any oversight, which led to a rejection rate of almost 90% in 2017/2018: most of these decisions were unlawful. We began supporting affected individuals throughout the entire process, collecting and submitting documents, assisting the Greek authorities, and taking on a watchdog role. In 2018, we brought the first rejection in Germany before a court and succeeded in having it declared unlawful, obliging Germany to approve the family reunification.
Since then, we have supported thousands of families and successfully litigated hundreds of cases. To this day, restoring family unity for people seeking protection remains a key focus of our work.

In the coming months, up until December, we will present one milestone from each year since Equal Rights was founded.

To stay up to date on Equal Rights’ projects and events, subscribe to our newsletter (link in bio).

Detained for seeking protection.

Abdo*, a Yemeni national fleeing war, was detained upon arrival in Greece and denied access to asylum due to the unlawful suspension of asylum procedures under Art. 79 L. 5218/2025.

Despite strong grounds for protection, he spent over six months in arbitrary detention, as the Asylum Service delayed the examination of his claim citing an ongoing criminal investigation.

Following the legal intervention of Equal Rights, the Administrative Court of Kavala ruled his detention unlawful. Abdo* was ultimately granted refugee status.
His case exposes a widespread practice by Greek authorities: using criminal charges, even minor or pending ones, to justify the administrative detention of foreign nationals.

Credits for the photo to Mustafa Noah.

The German authorities seek to transfer recognized refugees to Greece. A new legal opinion by Equal Rights Beyond Borders shows: this is unlawful.
EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights prohibit transfers where serious human rights violations threaten — and that is exactly what the legal opinion documents for Greece: homelessness on return, inaccessible documents, no integration support, and single women facing double discrimination and risk of violence.
This applies under the new Common European Asylum System too. The legal framework changes — the obligation to protect does not.

📄 Read the full legal opinion → Link in bio

Note: A previous version of this post was deleted due to inaccuracies and has been corrected here.

The German authorities seek to transfer protection status holders to Greece. A new legal opinion by Equal Rights Beyond Borders shows: this is currently unlawful.
EU law and the ECHR prohibit transfers where serious human rights violations threaten — and that is exactly what the legal opinion documents for Greece: homelessness on return, inaccessible documents, no integration support, and single women facing double discrimination and risk of violence.
This applies under the new Common European Asylum System too. The legal framework changes — the obligation to protect does not.

📄 Read the full legal opinion → Link in bio

10 years ago today, EU heads of states and governments met and concluded on the EU-Turkey Deal. All newcomers were to be deported from Greece to Turkey – and almost overnight, registration centres became deportation centres. 40,000 on the islands, 20,000 in Moria alone, human beings living in the dirt in inhumane, unsafe conditions. Because islands became dead ends. A deal that never worked – but is still celebrated as a “model of success”.

10 years of the EU-Turkey Deal means 10 years of Equal Rights Beyond Borders. European migration policy is still shaped by externalization today: Albania Deal, Tunisia Deal, Return Hubs. We will continue intervening. We are not going anywhere.

➡️ Link in bio – Sign up for the newsletter, support our work. Let us defend human rights together.

Heute wurde das deutsche Gesetz zur Umsetzung des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Asylsystems (GEAS) vom Bundestag durchgewunken. Sie wird im Juni eine der größten Asylrechtsverschärfungen der letzten Jahrzehnte vollenden.

In “Sekundärmigrationszentren” und im “Grenzverfahren” sollen Menschen inhaftiert werden, auch die Haft während des Asylverfahrens wird möglich. Möglichkeiten des rechtlichen Vorgehens werden massiv eingeschränkt. Es soll unmöglich werden gegen “Dublin-Bescheide”, also gegen Rückführungen zum Beispiel nach Griechenland, Polen oder Bulgarien zu klagen. Obwohl dort katastrophale Bedingungen herrschen. Zudem sollen selbst leichteste Verstöße gegen Regelungen - auch wenn diese teils rechtswidrig sein werden - hart bestraft. Sozialleistungen können Menschen komplett entzogen werden, Obdachlosigkeit und Verarmung wird bewusst weiter verstärkt. Und: das GEAS verzeiht nicht. Das Verpassen von Behördenterminen oder andere “Non-Konformität” wird dazu führen, dass Türen für immer verschlossen bleiben.

Gegen all das werden wir uns und werden sich andere zur Wehr setzen und Menschenrechte von Betroffenen verteidigen. Wir bereiten Interventionen vor und werden unsererseits vorbereitet sein, mit juristischen Mitteln gegen diese Verschärfungen aufzustehen.

Du kannst uns dabei unterstützen und auf dem Laufenden bleiben.

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On the night of 3 February 2026, a deadly incident occurred near the Greek coast involving a boat carrying around 40 people on the move and a vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard. Under circumstances that remain unclear, people ended up in the sea.

Fifteen people lost their lives. Twenty five others were seriously injured, many of them children.

According to official figures, fourteen people were recovered dead from the sea, while one woman later died as a result of her injuries. The General Hospital in Chios received twenty five injured people on the move, including men, women and children, as well as two coast guard officers. Despite severe staff shortages, hospital staff made every effort to respond.

Greece is bound by international, European Union and domestic law to provide assistance to boats in distress at sea, regardless of the nationality or status of those on board. The practices reported in this case raise serious concerns regarding compliance with these obligations and the protection of fundamental human rights. Similar concerns have been raised following previous shipwrecks in Farmakonisi, Pylos and Chios.

Deaths at sea are closely linked to deterrence and pushback policies implemented by Greece and supported at the European level, accountability should not be just an option.

Public authorities issued conclusions before an independent investigation had been carried out. Testimonies from survivors and hospital staff raise questions about the official narrative.

Equal Rights joins civil society organisations in calling for a thorough and independent investigation into the deadly shipwreck, without obstruction. We stand with the survivors and call on the state to ensure humane accommodation, access to psychosocial support and unhindered access to legal assistance.

Der Verfassungsschutz hat auf Malta rechtswidrig Schutzsuchende befragt

Was ist passiert?

2019 wurden aus Seenot gerettete Schutzsuchende auf Malta von Personen befragt, die nicht als deutsche Behördenvertreter erkennbar waren. Die Botschaft war klar: Ohne „Sicherheitsüberprüfung“ keine Aufnahme in Deutschland. Die Interviews fanden unter erheblichem Druck statt: ohne vorherige Information, ohne Transparenz und ohne echte Freiwilligkeit.

Was sagt das Urteil?

Das Verwaltungsgericht Köln stellt nun klar:
- Für die Erhebung und Speicherung personenbezogener Daten durch den Verfassungsschutz bestand keine gesetzliche Grundlage.
- Weder eine wirksame Einwilligung noch Regelungen der Dublin-III-Verordnung oder politische Absprachen wie die sogenannte „Malta-Einigung“ rechtfertigen solche Maßnahmen.
- Staatliche Stellen bleiben auch bei Handeln im Ausland an Grundrechte gebunden.

Warum ist das wichtig?

Hätte der Verfassungsschutz den Betroffenen nicht befragt, hätte er - wie alle anderen - einreisen dürfen. So musste er viele Monate lang unter kathastrophalen Bedingungen auf Malta im Gefängnis bleiben. Außerdem weist der Fall auf ein strukturelles Problem: Sicherheitslogiken werden genutzt, um die Rechte von Schutzsuchenden einzuschränken, häufig außerhalb öffentlicher Kontrolle, ohne klare Rechtsgrundlagen und ohne effektiven Rechtsschutz. Ohne uns hätte der Kläger nie Rechtsschutz erhalten - das ist die Logik von Externalisierung. Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn. Und der Verfassungsschutz überschreitet Kompetenzen.

Rechtsstaatlichkeit endet nicht an den deutschen Grenzen Und sie darf nicht von politischen Deals abhängig gemacht werden.