Inside a sweltering, cavernous hall, rows of men sit in silence, their wait the only thing occupying them.
Behind them, signs from a bygone tourist fair urge visitors to “Explore the Beauty of Nature,” showcasing illustrations of Crete’s coves and beaches.
But those held in the former Ayia exhibition center did not arrive on the Greek island as vacationers. They are migrants who risked a perilous journey across the sea from Libya to Europe’s southern tip, only to be detained and denied the right to seek asylum.
Now, they are being transferred from Crete to closed facilities on the mainland.
The right to request protection, or asylum, is enshrined in EU and international law, as well as in the Greek constitution. However, in a swift move earlier this month, the government has overridden this principle for at least the next three months, drawing criticism from human rights lawyers.
Thanos Plevris, the new migration minister, told the BBC that the country faces a “state of emergency.” He warned of an “invasion” if Europe fails to enact stringent measures and emphasized the need for strong deterrence.
“Anyone who comes will be detained and returned,” he stated.
Now, even individuals fleeing the war in Sudan are being detained without the opportunity to explain their circumstances.
Inside the old exhibition center, guards cautioned migrants against speaking to the media. “They’re in detention,” we were informed.
Amidst a heatwave, many of the men were in vests or shirtless. While there were a few water taps around the perimeter, proper showers were absent, and only soiled blankets lay on the floor. Boxes of donated clothes and toys remained unopened by guards, wary of inciting conflict.
Over two days, only a few hundred migrants were observed at Ayia, reportedly from countries including Egypt, Bangladesh, Yemen, and Sudan.
Approximately 20 teenage boys and two women sat together at the rear.
The facility was stretched to its limits when 900 people landed from Libya during one weekend earlier this month.
More than 7,000 migrants arrived in Crete between January and late June, more than triple the number in 2024.
In total, the EU’s Frontex border agency recorded nearly 20,000 crossings in the Eastern Mediterranean during that period, with the Libya-Crete corridor now serving as the primary route.
Traffickers began directing people to Crete in earnest after Italy signed a controversial deal with Libya a few years ago, allowing for migrants to be intercepted at sea and pushed back, despite extensive evidence of human rights abuses.
In mid-July, the government in Athens made its own move.
“The road to Greece is closing,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced to parliament, stating that all migrants “entering illegally” would be arrested.
Days later, Mustafa, a 20-year-old who fled the war in Sudan, was detained.
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From Ayia, he was transferred to a camp outside Athens known as Amygdaleza, rows of grey prefabricated huts in a parched clearing surrounded by tall fences and security cameras.
“We are living here like a prison,” Mustafa told me, after I managed to contact him by phone. “They don’t allow us to move. We don’t have clothes or shoes. Our situation is very bad.”
Lawyers who have visited Amygdaleza confirm his account, describing recent arrivals walking barefoot on scorching soil and receiving minimal information. Ordinarily, Sudanese citizens would be granted asylum in Europe.
In a series of voice and text messages, Mustafa recounted how he had spent months in dire conditions in Libya, waiting for his chance to cross. He was at sea for two days with 38 people crammed onto a plastic boat that required rescue. “We didn’t manage to reach [land] because of the waves.”
Having survived that ordeal, he now fears Greece will attempt to return him.
“I left my country because of the war; I can’t go back,” Mustafa stated. “I come from Sudan because there is war in Sudan, and I want protection. That’s why I came here.”
“Now we do not know what our fate will be.”
The Greek migration minister describes himself as “hardline” on immigration.
“It’s clear a country cannot accept such pressure from migration and not react,” Thanos Plevris said, defending the government’s new measures.
He claimed that Crete had been receiving “one, two, three thousand people a day” from Libya when it stepped in, though he later scaled that back to “close to a thousand” in three days when challenged.
Plevris sees no issue with withholding the right to request asylum, suggesting that Sudanese refugees could simply remain in Libya.
“I want to be completely honest. We try to strike a balance between respect for their rights and respects for the people in Greece,” the minister asserted. “Anyone who enters Greek territory over the next three months knows they are violating Greek law.”
The European Commission says it is “looking into” the move.
A spokesperson told the BBC the situation was “an exception” because the surge in small boat arrivals had “possible consequences in terms of European security.”
Poland also halted asylum applications on its eastern border back in March, albeit with certain exceptions. Greece itself took similar action in 2020 during an increase in arrivals from Turkey.
Certain obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights can be overridden “in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation.”
Whether the current situation constitutes such a grave threat to either Poland or Greece is a matter of considerable debate.
“This article is for war or a massive uprising,” argues Dimitris Fourakis, a lawyer who works extensively with migrants in Crete, and sees a worrying trend across Europe.
He warns that detention centers will quickly become overcrowded, as “sending migrants back” is easier said than done.
“I think it’s a decision that is completely illegal. It’s a very big step, a very wrong step. And I think the best they can do is stop it immediately,” the lawyer said.
The increase in small boat arrivals coincided with the peak of the summer tourist season on Crete, and the migration minister says protecting the tourist industry is his priority.
“I’ve never seen any migrants,” admits Andreas Lougiakis, a restaurant owner in the picturesque village of Paleochora on the southern coast, adding that the boats mostly reach the tiny island of Gavdos.
Even talk of their arrival is detrimental to business.
“We feel sad for these people of course, but… people think this place is full of immigrants; no beaches available, no place,” Andreas said. “We are just worried for our business and for our families.”
The suspension of asylum is part of a broader crackdown on irregular migrants here. The minister plans to jail all those who fail to leave Greece when their asylum request is rejected and use electronic tags for surveillance.
He has also promised a “drastic review” of benefits.
Claiming that “millions” in North Africa are poised to cross to Europe, citing conversations in Libya, Plevris suggests other countries should be grateful for his resolve.
“You should know that if the countries on the border of the EU do not take tough measures, then all this flow of migrants will be directed towards your societies,” he warns. “Greece used to say it before, but back then, no one listened.”
Each evening, as the sky over Crete turns orange, the coast guard escorts a group of migrants to port and onto the night passenger ferry for Athens.
When the number of arrivals surged earlier this month, they struggled to find space on board.
The minister insists the suspension of asylum rights is a temporary step, most likely only for the summer.
High winds, rather than government resolve, appear to have slowed the flow of boats for now.
However, the move has raised concerns about how readily governments can discard a fundamental right in the name of security, and leaves significant questions for individuals like Mustafa from Sudan, who fled war and are now detained in Europe.
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