The recent acquittal of 24 humanitarian workers by a court in Lesbos, described by the European Parliament as the “largest case of criminalization of solidarity in Europe,” was expected to mark a turning point in Greece’s treatment of civil society. Instead, the Greek government has intensified its crackdown.
On February 5, the Greek Parliament passed a government-led migration law that effectively criminalizes humanitarian work. The law treats membership in nongovernmental organizations as an aggravating factor in migration-related offenses and grants the Migration Minister broad powers to deregister groups without judicial oversight, raising serious concerns about potential abuse.
This law follows a surge in state-led intimidation after the February 3 collision between a Coast Guard vessel and a migrant boat off Chios, which resulted in 15 deaths. Survivors allege that reckless maneuvers by the coast guard caused the shipwreck, yet the government has pursued a smear campaign against those seeking accountability.
On February 9, Migration Minister Thanos Plevris accused human rights lawyer Dimitris Choulis, representing a survivor facing smuggling charges, of slandering the Coast Guard to push a political agenda. Meanwhile, Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced that the national intelligence service would investigate a nongovernmental organization, later identified as Médecins Sans Frontières, accusing it of coaching survivors to make claims against the coast guard.
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis also threatened journalist Chris Avramidis with legal action on live television for questioning Coast Guard tactics. Human Rights Watch has documented ongoing intimidation of the media, where lawsuits and governmental pressure have created a restrictive environment for independent reporting.
On February 11, Greek prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Tommy Olsen, founder of Aegean Boat Report in Norway, charging him with “forming a criminal organization” and “facilitating illegal entry” for his work documenting pushbacks of migrants and asylum seekers.
By equating acts of solidarity with potential criminality and framing accountability efforts as threats, the Greek government is undermining democratic checks and balances. Observers have called on the European Commission to formally assess the new migration law’s compatibility with EU law and ensure that Greece upholds its commitments to protect critics from legal harassment.
