Overview

• Greek authorities have suspended all asylum processing for sea arrivals from North Africa for 90 days under an emergency moratorium.
• Approximately 200 migrants were apprehended—190 south of Crete and 11 near Agathonisi—and are being held without hearings in two new closed-control centers on Crete.
• A draft law under review would allow first-time irregular entrants to face up to two years’ detention and repeat offenders up to five years behind bars before deportation.
• Athens has stepped up naval patrols south of Crete and deepened cooperation with Libyan authorities to intercept migrant vessels before they reach Greek waters.
• Human rights groups have warned the measures risk breaching EU asylum standards after reports of injuries in custody and one detainee’s death in hospital.