Greece’s top administrative court has annulled a joint ministerial decision characterizing Turkey as a “safe country” for refugee applicants from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
In a majority decision, the Council of State said that there was no sufficient documentation and justification for the designation of Turkey as a safe country in the reasoning for the joint ministerial decision, which cited international sources without specifically evaluating their content against the legal criteria required for such a designation.
As a result, international asylum seekers from the five countries will no longer be returned to Turkey, from where they entered Greek territory, but each case will be examined individually.