HRLP X LCL report: the exemption from criminalisation
- hrlpsteeringcommit
- Dec 17, 2025
- 1 min read
Seeking international protection is a fundamental human right. However in Greece, it is steadily eroding.
The Human Rights Legal Project together with Legal Centre Lesvos, and supported by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Office in Greece, are pleased to present our newest report: "The exemption from criminalisation: A real safeguard or an illusion?".
Through a thorough, substantiated analysis, the papers aims to demonstrate that, despite the legal safeguards intended to protect the right to seek asylum, displaced people arriving in Greece are systematically criminalized, facing prosecution instead of protection.
Drawing on the legal framework of the Greek migration code, the report provides a thorough analysis of the clause exempting refugees & asylum seekers from the scope of smuggling law, highlighting its inconsistent application in Greek jurisdictions through a series of case studies. Research findings also reveal a legal paradox with devastating consequences: smuggling prosecution poses an obstacle to asylum access, while asylum policies & practices enable the criminalization of people on the move under smuggling laws.
An insightful paper, shedding light on how the punitive EU border regime, enabled by the exclusionary Greek justice system, have institutionalized the criminalisation of people on the move.
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