Over a two week period in January, as our partners at I Have Rights and the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) published an in-depth report on similar practices in Samos, the Legal Centre Lesvos (LCL) documented an alarming pattern of unlawful phone confiscation and intrusive surveillance targeting migrants residing in the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) in Kara Tepe, Lesvos’ hotspot refugee camp. These incidents not only violated the privacy rights of individuals but have also raised, once again, serious concerns regarding the misuse of power by law enforcement authorities against a population that is forced to reside in Lesvos’ CCAC. Migrants, including families and vulnerable individuals, have been subjected to arbitrary and repeated phone searches without legal justification.
Multiple testimonies collected by LCL reveal a consistent and troubling practice where migrants’ phones are taken by police officers both during the registration process and during the time period they reside in the Lesvos CCAC. Individuals have been forced to unlock their phones, allowing police to comb through personal information, including photos, chat logs, apps, and emails, all without a warrant. In at least one instance, a resident of Lesvos CCAC has been asked to leave the room while the unlocked phone was in possession of the police. The treatment during these searches has been reported as aggressive, with officers displaying hostility and a lack of respect for migrants’ dignity.
Multiple people who reported cases to the LCL indicate that they were targeted repeatedly over extended periods. For example, one individual had his phone confiscated and searched multiple times, both in an unofficial police container inside the camp and inside a police vehicle, without any legal basis or formal procedure. In other instances reported to the LCL, people were approached by police officers in civilian clothing in their tents or containers within the CCAC and taken for questioning. In one case, an individual was interrogated inside the back of a police car while being driven around inside the camp, with the police accessing data on his phone during the ride. In additional reports, migrants have been subjected to follow-up surveillance, including receiving calls and text messages from police officers requesting further meetings.
Beyond the unauthorized phone confiscation and searches, many migrants have reported facing lengthy interrogations where police officers demanded personal information unrelated to the asylum process. Questioning often focused on topics such as smuggling networks, religious affiliations, and information related to militias in the individuals’ home countries. In multiple reported instances, migrants were coerced into providing false information about smuggling networks after prolonged, intimidating questioning.
We note that the data above was collected over a two-week period, during which 6 out of 10 individuals surveyed had their phones searched by law enforcement at least once. In all 4 cases where phones were not searched, the individuals did not possess a phone at the time of their asylum registration.
While this survey sample is too small for statistical analysis, it highlights a concerning trend. The phone searches described represent clear violations of migrants’ right to privacy and their legal protections under international human rights law. The unwarranted surveillance and intrusive questioning have contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation, particularly in the highly surveilled and policed environment of the Lesvos CCAC, where individuals fear reprisals if they refuse to consent to phone searches. All those who reported their phone had been searched to the LCL stated they did not feel they could refuse police access, fearing that doing so would negatively impact their asylum application or lead to other forms of punishment.
The LCL calls on Greek authorities to immediately cease these unlawful practices and implement measures to ensure that the rights of migrants are upheld in accordance with national and international law.