European Court of Human Rights rules against Greece on shooting of Syria refugee

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled against Greece in regard to the shooting and killing of a Syrian refugee almost a decade ago.

On 22 September, 2014, Greece’s coastguard shot Syrian refugee, Belal Tello, in the head while chasing the boat in which he was travelling during the massive influx of millions of refugees from war-torn Syria to Europe at the time. He succumbed to his injuries in December 2015, over a year after the shooting.

On Tuesday, this week, almost ten years after the incident, the ECHR unanimously ruled that the Greek coastguard’s shooting was a violation of Article 2 – the right to life – of the Court’s Convention, and also highlighted shortcomings in Greek authorities’ own investigation into the matter.

In a statement, the ECHR announced that it concluded that the Greek coastguard’s use of force had been “neither absolutely necessary nor strictly proportionate” to the legitimate aims set out in the Convention’s Article 2.

“Having regard to all these factors, the Court considered that the coastguards, who could have presumed that the vessel being monitored contained passengers, had failed to exercise the degree of vigilance required to minimise any risk of endangering lives and had used excessive force in a context of regulatory uncertainty concerning the use of firearms by members of the coastguard service,” the statement said.

As a result of the ruling, the Court subsequently ordered Greece to pay €80,000 ($87,000) in damages to Tello’s wife and two children.

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