This is how Greece will punish NGOs that facilitate the entry of immigrants

The new regulations were approved with the votes of the ruling deputies New Democracy (ND), from the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakiswhich has taken advantage of the conservative majority it maintains in the Council of the Hellenes.

During his speech in plenary session, the Minister of Immigration, Thanos Plevrisargued that penalties should be tougher when the person involved appears in the national NGO registry.

In his opinion, whoever participates in programs financed by the ministry itself assumes a higher responsibility and, therefore, must be subject to a stricter sanctioning framework in case of engaging in activities related to the facilitation of irregular entries.

In the course of the parliamentary debate, the head of the portfolio dedicated to migration went so far as to request “more severe sanctions” for members of NGOs that facilitate the entry of immigrants in an irregular situation into the territory.

“If the trafficker, this murderer who has kidnapped and transported immigrants, is registered with an NGO on the national registry, more severe sanctions will be imposed,” he said during the debate prior to the vote.

Furthermore, among the measures that the government led by Mitsotakis has imposed, a maximum limit on state financing of these organizations30% of the operating budget of each organization.

The approval of this law comes in response to the decision of a court on the Greek island of Lesvos, which decided three weeks ago to acquit 24 volunteers and activists of the NGO Emergency Rescue Center International (ERCI), who for seven years had faced charges of human trafficking.

Likewise, the measure is adopted in a context marked by growing social unrest due to the constant arrival of migrants to different European countries, in parallel to a shift in community policies that is committed to strengthening controls and toughening the conditions of entry into European territory.

The reform also establishes that the accusation, even if there is not yet a firm conviction, of a member of an NGO for this crime will be sufficient for the State may exclude the organization from the Registry NGO of the Ministry of Migration.

This expulsion means de facto ending all legal activity of this organization, since it is an essential condition for these civil society entities to be able to carry out any action in Greek territory.

The left, criticism

The left-wing formations in the opposition reproached the Executive for adopting an approach that they described as “ultra-right” in immigration matters and accused it of placing civil society that provides assistance to migrants in the spotlight.

For the Greek left-wing parties, this law only has two pillars as its objective: persecute migrants and threaten those NGO workers who try to help them enter the country.

The social democrats of PASOK, the main opposition force, denounced the Government for being “legislating a threat of persecution” against non-governmental organizations, considering that the new norm places them under permanent suspicion.

For its part, Sokratis Famelos, president of the leftist Syrizacriticized that the administration led by Mitsotakis only intends to follow the US policy of Donald Trump“which gave free rein to murder and terror,” in reference to the actions of ICE in Minneapolis.

The defenders of this regulation maintain that the priority is shield the borders and contain the arrival of illegal immigrants in a country that has been on the front line of the immigration crisis. They claim that toughening penalties will limit the arrival of irregulars to Greek coasts.

NGOs and activists, however, warn that the threat of jail and heavy fines can deter basic humanitarian assistance, leaving migrants even more vulnerable.