Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe.
The ban comes amid a surge in migrants reaching the island of Crete and after talks with Libya’s Benghazi-based government to stem the flow this week. The country, which has recently built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols, has been accused of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders by Human Rights groups, an accusation its government denies.
Legislation on the ban received 177 votes in favour and 74 against, effectively halting asylum processing for at least three months and allowing authorities to quickly repatriate migrants without any prior identification process.
“Faced with the sharp increase in irregular arrivals by sea from North Africa, particularly from Libya to Crete, we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily suspend the examination of asylum applications,” Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis was quoted by his office as telling the German newspaper Bild on Friday.
“Greece is not a gateway to Europe open to everyone.” He noted.
Rights groups and opposition parties said the ban approved by parliament violates human rights. “Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane,” said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser for aid group IRC.
