On Saturday, 247 asylum seekers were transferred from Crete to Lavrio, and another 112 are scheduled to be moved today to Piraeus, with the aim of being held in closed facilities in the Attica region and subsequently deported, in line with a recent amendment passed in Parliament.
The amendment suspends the examination of asylum applications—initially for three months—for migrants arriving in Greece from North Africa. It also stipulates that these individuals can be returned, without formal registration, to their country of origin or departure.
Three temporary detention facilities for asylum seekers will be established in Crete, with the possibility of a closed facility being added at a later stage.
Despite the amendment, arrivals continue in Crete and Gavdos, with over 440 asylum seekers rescued between Thursday and today, according to Kathimerini [1], [2]. This morning alone, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued 74 people in the sea area south of Kaloi Limenes, Crete.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris stated on MEGA this morning that many of the asylum seekers are from Sudan, a country that has been experiencing civil war for the past two years. As February 2025, over 8.8 million were internally displaced and more than 3.5 million others had fled the country. The Ministry of Migration has also decided to initially adopt the Region of Crete’s proposal for three temporary detention sites (Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion), without ruling out the future establishment of a closed facility.
What is fyi.news?
