In ‘potentially trailblazing’ decision, European court of human rights finds country engaging in illicit deportations

The European court of human rights has found Greece guilty of conducting “systematic” pushbacks of would-be asylum seekers, ordering it to compensate a woman forcibly expelled back to Turkey despite her attempts to seek protection in the country.

In a judgment described as potentially trailblazing, the Strasbourg-based tribunal awarded the complainant damages of €20,000, citing evidence that the frontline EU state was engaging in the illicit deportations when she was removed.