ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A Greek court has ruled that a Syrian refugee cannot be returned to Turkey as Turkey would not give him his rights under international law. The landmark decision deals a blow to the already faltering EU-Turkey migrant deal, which is based on the premise that Turkey is a safe place for refugees. A court document, seen by UK media outlet The Guardian, details the decision of a three-person appeal court in Lesbos, Greece. The decision overturns the applicant’s deportation. “The committee has judged that the temporary protection which could be offered by Turkey to the applicant, as a Syrian citizen, does not offer him rights equivalent to those required by the Geneva convention,” the document states. Under the European Union’s deal with Turkey, for every migrant returned to Turkey from Greece, Europe would resettle one refugee currently seeking asylum in Turkey. The deal has faced harsh criticism from rights groups, including the UN High Commission for Refugees, who questioned its legality and asserted that Turkey was not a safe place for refugees. This is the first known legal challenge of the deal. “At its very first test, the EU-Turkey deal crumbles,” said Amnesty International’s deputy Europe director Gauri van Gulik. Some 400 migrants have been deported to Turkey since the deal was signed in March. The Syrian refugee applicant in the court case will now have his application re-heard.
