Equal Legal Aid

Diavata refugee camp © Régis Defurnaux, 2021

Equal Legal Aid

Supporting Access to Justice

Equal Legal Aid is a women-led non-profit founded in 2019, working to defend the right to asylum in Greece and Europe. Through free legal support, community outreach, and advocacy, the organisation helps displaced people—especially the most vulnerable—access their rights and navigate the asylum process, while also working to strengthen asylum protections at a systemic level.

Learn more

Latest publications

2026-07-09

Contribution to Greek Asylum Case Law Report (Issue 1/2026)

2026-06-16

Jurisprudence collection, VOLUME II, 2023 - 2025

2026-05-14

ELA Case Referred to the CJEU: Access to Effective Legal Remedies in the asylum procedure

See all

latest decisions

ΑΔ198/2026

English Greek

Date : {{ instance.date }}

Type of proceeding : {{ instance.custom_text_field_2 }}

Asylum Procedure : {{ instance.custom_text_field_3 }}

ΑΔ73/2026

English Greek

Date : {{ instance.date }}

Type of proceeding : {{ instance.custom_text_field_2 }}

Asylum Procedure : {{ instance.custom_text_field_3 }}

ΑΔ72/2026

English Greek

Date : {{ instance.date }}

Type of proceeding : {{ instance.custom_text_field_2 }}

Asylum Procedure : {{ instance.custom_text_field_3 }}

See all

Stories from Northern Greece

Zoe - The legal dilemma | Equal Legal Aid

Zoe - The legal dilemma In 2016, 16-year-old Zoe and her family applied for asylum in Greece. After two rejections, they appealed twice against the negative decisions. The hearing of their second appeal was postponed six times and is still pending today, eight years after their arrival. In the meantime, Zoe and her brother have integrated into Greek schools and have succeeded in continuing their education. But there’s still no decision in their case, and Zoe remains an asylum seeker in a precarious and uncertain situation, unable to make any plans for her future. Zoe faces a legal dilemma: Her asylum case is still pending after 8 years, and she’s now eligible for a residence permit. To apply for it, she’d have to abandon her asylum procedure, and she’d be prohibited to work for a year, hence losing her livelihood. Under these conditions, she’d be unable to continue her university studies.

Michael - Fighting against a retroactive law | Equal Legal Aid

Michael - Fighting against a retroactive law After spending 11 months in France during his asylum procedure, Michael, who has a serious health condition, decided to return very briefly to his country of origin to collect additional evidence of his persecution for his political activism. As a result, he lost access to his asylum procedure in France and had to smuggle himself into Greece. After his first rejection, Michael was unable to lodge an appeal as he was very ill and in hospital at the time. As he is eligible for a humanitarian residence permit, the asylum authorities referred his case to the Ministry of Migration. In fact, the law reserved the right to apply for it for foreigners who were particularly vulnerable or well integrated. Michael submitted his application in September 2020. In early 2021, the Greek government passed a law with retroactive effect, stating that applications submitted after May 2020 wouldn’t be examined by the authorities. Michael’s application was immediately rejected. This rejection violates an important principle in the justice system: It is forbidden to apply a new law to an event that occurred in the past, except if the retroactive application benefits the person. Michael has made an appeal against this unfair decision. Although the judge ruled in favour of Michael, the authorities have still not complied with the decision. Seven years after applying for asylum in Greece, Michael is still undocumented, homeless and struggling to get medical care. His legal battle is far from over.

Zakariya - Trapped in a legal loop | Equal Legal Aid

Zakariya - Trapped in a legal loop Zakariya’s case is a Kafkaesque one that has left his family in a situation of extreme vulnerability. Zakariya and his two children were granted refugee status in Belgium in 2015. In 2017, the family was the victim of a pushback while on holiday in Greece. Arrived in Turkey and deprived of all their documents, they have been disregarded by the Belgian consulate for two years. After resigning to smuggle themselves back to Greece in 2019, they found themselves in a new legal nightmare: Belgium refused to grant them a visa because they had lost their address in Belgium, and the Greek asylum service refused them access to the asylum procedure because they were already recognised refugees in Belgium. While living in a refugee camp, the family has no access to proper education or health care.

Layla - Disdained by the asylum authorities | Equal Legal Aid

Layla - Disdained by the asylum authorities Layla arrived in Greece in her late 50s and, despite her vulnerability, had to wait many months before she was officially admitted to a refugee camp and started the asylum procedure. After two failed asylum applications, Layla applied a third time and revealed an important part of her story: that she had also been a victim of human trafficking in Turkey, a traumatic event she hadn’t been able to disclose before. Despite the evidence, she was rejected a third time and she complains of disdainful behaviour by asylum officials. At 65, Layla is determined to make a fresh start. Between volunteering at a women’s shelter, learning English and Greek, and enrolling in a sewing course, she is doing much to integrate in Greece. But after six years of struggle, she remains in legal limbo, while her mental and physical health deteriorates.

See All

Prize and awards

Our association has been honoured with the Pro Bono Trophy 2023, the Agir par le Droit prize awarded by Medici law firm in 2022 and 2024, and the Ockenden International Prize 2026.

fr | Fonds de dotation - MEDICI | Equal Legal Aid

Ockenden International Prize | Equal Legal Aid

ELA-won-the-Prize-Solo-of-the-trophees-Pro-Bono-2023

Newsletter

Keep up to date with our work and the situation in northern Greece by subscribing to our newsletter.

796

Follow us on social media for the latest news, publications, and updates on our legal and advocacy work.

Get involved

Do you have a legal background, experience in the field, and the ability to commit for at least six months? If so, we would be glad to hear from you. We welcome applications from lawyers, legal counsels, trainee lawyers, and postgraduate law students with experience in asylum law, subject to full-time, long-term commitment and relevant previous experience in Greece or abroad.

Contact us here