The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Greece yesterday for the death of an underage refugee from Iraq in 2015, off the coast of Symi (case Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v. Greece), with six votes in favor and one against [1], [2], [3]. The Court ordered the Greek government to pay €80,000 in compensation to the parents, finding a violation of the right to life, as protected under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The incident involved two smugglers on the boat carrying the family, a FRONTEX vessel, and the Greek Coast Guard, with discrepancies between the testimonies of the Greek authorities and the claimants. According to the complaint, the incident occurred when the Greek Coast Guard was pursuing the boat, which carried 96 people, and fired at it, killing the minor who was in the lower cabin of the boat.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 8,938 people, a record number, lost their lives on migration routes worldwide in 2024.
In 2017, the Piraeus Maritime Court decided not to press charges against the Coast Guard, with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) deeming the investigation by Greek authorities “insufficient,” particularly due to the loss of evidence, which impacted the effectiveness of the inquiry. This hindered the determination of the true circumstances surrounding Ameer’s death and, in some cases, the punishment of those responsible.
The ECHR ruled that the Coast Guard failed to “minimize the risk to life” and acknowledged that the use of force, especially weapons, should be avoided when there is a risk of innocent lives being lost. The dissenting judge, however, considered the penalty overly lenient, stating, “It has not been proven that the lethal force used was absolutely necessary.”
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