H.A. v. Greece, Appl. No. 59670/19

Living conditions at the time of the application

Despite being in the 7th month of her pregnancy, the applicant was left without any assistance by the authorities. She is sleeping in a tent in the forest surrounding the RIC (so called “jungle”). Since she was not able to acquire a tent on her own, the applicant was sharing a bigger plastic tent with 8 other persons. Not even sleeping bags and mattresses were provided by the RIC but had to be bought by the applicant herself. At that time, 6.200 people were living in the hotspot. The toilets, which the applicant had to visit every hour at this advanced stage of her pregnancy, were overloaded, dirty, and usually did not have toilet paper or soap. The applicant had to walk more than 100 meters uphill to reach the next sanitary facility. Most of the time, men and women shared the same facilities and doors could not be locked. As a result,  the applicant felt very unsafe and stopped going to the toilets at night, but relieved herself in the bushes. Since this was done by many inhabitants, the surrounding was contaminated with faeces. Access to maternal health care was not provided. Two times, the applicant was denied access to the hospital and was told to come back when the pregnancy is more well-advanced.

Decision

The Court granted our request for interim measures and ordered the Government to provide the applicant with accomodation and healthcare compatible with her particular status as a pregnant woman.