Almost 200 migrants have been detained in Greece since the temporary suspension of asylum applications from North Africa for three months from July 11. The illegal immigrants arriving from Libya were detained by the coast guard.
“They have no right to apply for asylum, they will not be transported to reception centres, but will be in police custody until their deportation procedure is initiated,” Greece’s minister said. On July 9, the government announced that it would temporarily suspend the reception of asylum applications from migrants arriving by boat from North Africa for three months. The deterrence measure was adopted after thousands of migrants had reached the islands of Crete and Gavdos since the beginning of the year. According to authorities, more than 7,300 migrants and refugees arrived on the two islands, compared to 4,935 last year. Of the approximately 200 migrants produced, 190 landed in southern Crete, and eleven others were found on the island of Agatonis, near the Turkish coast.
The number of migrants arriving from Libya is increasing in Greece, especially in Crete, where Prime Minister Kyriaš Mitsotakis was born. In July alone, more than 2,000 people arrived, provoking the wrath of local authorities and tourism companies, which pressured the government to stop the flow of refugees. Greece’s immigration ministry is preparing a law that will impose more than two years in prison on immigrants who enter the country illegally, and offenders will be punished with five years in prison. Calling the arrival of migrants an “invasion,” they said they supported deterrence because Greece is not a “hotel” for offenders.
Athens had already suspended the reception of asylum applications once in early 2020 during the immigration crisis in Turkey, when thousands of asylum seekers in the European Union flooded across the Greek-Turkish border.
Translated and edited by Hans Seckler