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Legal Centre Lesvos

Mytilene, Greece
Joined September 2023

The Legal Centre Lesvos works to defend and advance the rights of migrants on the Greek island of Lesvos, through representation, strategic litigation, criminal defense, and advocacy.

Presence in: Greece
Focus: Criminal Justice, Legal Aid & Public Interest Law, Policy Advocacy, Refugees & Migrant Rights

The Legal Centre Lesvos AMKE is a civil non-profit organisation, registered in Greece since May 2019 and previously operating as a grassroots association, under the umbrella of Prism the Gift Fund. Since August 2016, we have provided free and individual legal information, representation and assistance to migrants who arrive by sea to Lesvos. Besides this continuous and direct support, the Legal Centre also works towards collective justice and structural change as part of local and international movements, including through advocacy and strategic litigation: documenting violations of migrants’ rights and engaging in advocacy and strategic litigation to hold the Greek government, Member States of the European Union, and European institutions to account. In addition, we advocate for equal access to safe and legal routes of migration in Greece, Europe and globally. We work in solidarity with migrants trapped in Lesvos, without losing sight of the fact that migration to Europe is intimately connected with the continent’s imperialist past and present and the interests of global capitalism; that the brutal violations witnessed here are always political choices; and that the people most affected – migrants themselves – are the most important political actors in challenging and resisting this.