Conditions at migrant camps in Lesvos and Kos under scrutiny
The living conditions at the migrant camps on the islands of Lesvos and Kos are under scrutiny by the European Court of Human Rights, focusing in particular on the treatment of eight asylum seekers.
The court has asked the Greek government to respond to a series of questions about their treatment at these specific centers.
According to media reports, the HIAS refugee aid organization and Equal Rights Beyond Borders legal teams have represented four of these individuals, noting that the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits degrading and inhuman treatment and obliges states to protect the right to life.
However, according to the legal groups representing these asylum seekers, the Greek state not only failed to protect the applicants from inhuman and degrading treatment but actively facilitated it.
They also said that residents of these centers have minimal access to medical care, sanitation facilities and adequate housing, and are often forced to sleep in tents flooded by winter rainwater.
It added that vulnerable people are not exempt from these conditions, even at a time when the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak in the camps was and remains immediate.
