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On the 1st of December 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated the application of O.M. v. Greece (Application no. 14354/21), concerning the lawfulness of the detention of an Afghan national who arrived on Lesvos on 30 August 2019 and was detained with a view to his readmission to Türkiye .

The applicant alleged that he was subjected to unlawful and arbitrary detention under the Greek authorities, that he was not promptly informed of the reasons for his detention in a language he could understand, and that the judicial revision of his detention was ineffective. The applicant also raised concerns under Article 8 regarding the prolonged uncertainty and vulnerability caused by the delays in processing his international protection request, which he argued had significant negative consequences on his mental health and well-being.

The Court asked the parties to clarify whether the applicant’s detention complied with the requirements of the Convention and domestic law, including the availability of effective judicial review (Arts. 5(1) and 5(4)). It also raised questions as to whether the length of detention and delays in examining the asylum claim affected the applicant’s private life (Art. 8), and whether an effective remedy was available to challenge the situation (Art. 13). The parties were further invited to provide information on the handling of the asylum procedure during and after the period of detention.