Brussels, 03/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 2 June, a Greek legal authority rejected an appeal submitted by a Syrian migrant whose demand for asylum, introduced after the entry into force of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration, was immediately deemed inadmissible.
The Syrian asylum seeker aged 46 expressed his fears of being persecuted because of his homosexuality if he were returned to Turkey. The Greek committee of appeal did not accept this argument because the man had already spent several years in Istanbul. In reply to questions put to it, the European Commission emphasised the fact that the EU-Turkey agreement on migration stipulates that demands from asylum seekers must be treated on a case-by-case basis. Certain cases have demonstrated that requests were “inadmissible” and that “people are to be returned to Turkey”, explained the European Commission's spokesperson in charge of home affairs, whilst saying: “we expect to see more decisions in the coming days and weeks”.
In another case, nine Syrian refugees, however, obtained the right to remain in Greece after another Greek legal appeals committee established that Turkey was not a safe third country.
European home affairs ministers said at the end of May that Greece could consider Turkey as a safe third country able to take in migrants whose asylum requests in Greece are rejected (see EUROPE 11555). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)