European rights court condemns Germany over deportation to Greece

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday condemned Germany in connection with the deportation of an asylum seeker to Greece.

The German authorities failed to ensure that a Syrian refugee received appropriate asylum proceedings in Greece after his deportation and was not subjected to ill-treatment, the judges in Strasbourg ruled.

Germany must now pay €8,000 ($8,700) in damages. Greece was also ordered to pay a fine. The Greek government had violated the prohibition against inhumane treatment in the European Convention on Human Rights with its treatment of the Syrian man, the court said.

The complainant is a Syrian who first fled to Greece in 2018 and then travelled on to Germany. On the day of his arrival in Germany, he was deported back to Greece on the basis of an EU agreement, although the man had expressed his intention to apply for asylum in Germany instead.

The man, who was born in 1993, was detained in a police station in Greece for more than two months after being sent back from Germany.

The Council of Europe, the umbrella organization to which the ECHR belongs, has repeatedly criticized Greece in recent years for its treatment of migrants.

The most recent report in July by the Council of Europe's committee against torture and inhuman treatment demanded that Greece significantly improve the conditions in refugee accommodation.

The Council of Europe and the ECHR are independent of the EU and are committed to upholding human rights in 47 member states.