European Court of Human Rights: Compensation for pregnant asylum seeker

A heavily pregnant woman had to live in a refugee camp on Samos under inhumane conditions. The European Court of Human Rights has now ruled that pregnant women should not be treated in this way.

The Ghanaian woman was 6 months pregnant when she arrived in Greece with her husband in August 2019. The camp on the island of Samos was completely overcrowded. They were referred to the so-called “Jungle”, a muddy hill outside the camp. The couple had to buy their own tent and blankets.

women in constant danger

Life there was very difficult, reports Andreas Eibelshäuser, who works for the Berlin law firm that filed a lawsuit on the woman’s behalf. “You also have to imagine that, what was really bad for her, that in this jungle, in this area around the camp, there were no sanitary facilities. That means that she somehow had to relieve herself in the forest, what for Women there are not without danger either. And you always have to be afraid that you will be exposed to an attack at night.”

Since the young woman had already had two miscarriages, she knew what was in store for her. Luckily her husband kept bringing her water to wash in the tent. “Then a huge problem is that you have to constantly queue for everything you need, food for example,” Eibelshäuser continues. “There is a doctor there, but you had to wait a long time to be seen. It was also very difficult.”

There was also tension in the camp. Riots broke out and stones were thrown. And then it burned too. Leaving was not an option. As refugees, the pregnant woman and her husband were forbidden to leave the island.

Compensation of 5000 euros

Pregnant women should not be treated like this, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has now ruled and awarded the young woman compensation of 5,000 euros. Greece had admitted that the Samos camp was hopelessly overcrowded, with 35 toilets for over 4,000 residents. But the government pointed out that the woman had enough food and had access to a doctor. The answer of the judges in a nutshell: they have often had to judge living conditions in camps, the case law is clear. It doesn’t have to be repeated. Clearly a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to which no one should be treated inhumanely.

The child was born in the local hospital in November 2019, after which the woman was allowed to leave the island of Samos. Today she lives in Thessaloniki. Little Mathilda, who was named after a helper on Samos, is now three years old. That’s why you know exactly, according to Andreas Eibelshäuser from the legal team, “that’s how long the court needs to make a decision.”

But it’s not the last case on this topic. The volunteer Berlin lawyers who accompanied the woman’s case filed a lawsuit in Strasbourg on behalf of three other women who were also pregnant on Samos at the time.