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Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
ATHENS – Amnesty International has called on Greece to immediately withdraw regulations that are depriving asylum seekers of their liberty in European Union-funded detention centers on the island of Samos. The organization has also urged the EU to hold Greece accountable for confining refugees and migrants while they await asylum decisions, a process that can take up to two years.
In its report titled Samos: We Feel in Prison on the Island – Unlawful Detention and Sub-standard Conditions in an EU-Funded Refugee Centre, Amnesty International highlighted “restrictions of freedom” and arbitrary detention practices in the facility.
“Under the pretext of registering and identifying people, the Greek authorities are effectively detaining all residents upon arrival, including vulnerable individuals, in violation of their rights. This is all happening in an EU-funded site that is supposed to comply with European standards,” the report stated.
Greece has repeatedly denied similar allegations, asserting that conditions in the centers have improved and are humane, particularly after new facilities were constructed following the 2020 fire that destroyed the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos.
The Samos center, which was the first of its kind to open in 2021, became overwhelmed between June 2023 and January 2024, with a peak of 4,850 people housed there—more than double its original capacity of 2,040.
The report noted that the increase in arrivals exacerbated issues with basic services, including water shortages, the absence of a permanent doctor, and inadequate healthcare for residents.
“The EU promised these centers would meet ‘European standards.’ Instead, we found a dystopian nightmare: a highly securitized camp lacking the most basic infrastructure. Security cameras and barbed wire encircle the center, creating a ‘prison-like’ environment. People lacked sufficient water, adequate healthcare, and even beds,” said Amnesty International’s Regional Director, Deprose Muchena.
The report further revealed that residents are confined for up to 25 days in what Amnesty described as “unlawful detention,” in breach of international law and standards, which allow detention for immigration purposes only in the most exceptional circumstances. The organization also cited evidence of people being detained beyond the 25-day limit, with backdated documents used to cover up the violations.
Amnesty criticized the overcrowded and “undignified” living conditions in the center and called for immediate action. “Greek asylum rules on ‘restrictions of freedom’ must be urgently repealed, and the European Commission needs to advance its infringement proceedings against Greece to ensure compliance with EU law,” Muchena stated.
“The EU must act urgently to ensure that restrictive measures during migration procedures do not result in widespread unlawful detention and other abuses, as we are witnessing in Samos,” he added.
The report also highlighted that contracts for health workers at the site expired on June 30, and the implementation of a new EU-funded program, called Hippocrates and managed by the International Organization for Migration, is still pending.
“The prolonged and continuing uncertainty surrounding the provision of adequate healthcare services in the camp raises serious concerns about Greece’s ability to ensure asylum seekers’ equal access to health services,” Amnesty International concluded. There has been no immediate response from Greek authorities.
