Greece rejected half of all asylum applications in the last two months

Greek authorities have rejected 11,000 asylum applications (48.2 per cent of the total) in the last two months of March and April. Many of the rejected asylum seekers will be detained until they can be deported to Turkey or their home countries, according to Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis.

The numbers of asylum applications spiked from an average monthly figure of 4,000 to 7,000 in March and finally to 16,000 in April, stated Mitarakis. The deportation process has been halted due to the current coronavirus pandemic, but Greece plans to detain rejected ones.

TMP _ 18/5/2020

Alexandros Michailidis
Photo caption: Refugees and migrants, wearing protective masks, stand next to the military bus which transfers them in the port of Mytilene, Greece on March 4, 2020