European Court of Human Rights condemns Greece over delayed access to treatment and degrading and inhuman living conditions of HIV-positive asylum seeker in Moria camp
Athens, 25 September 2026 — The European Court of Human Rights has found that Greece violated the rights of an HIV-positive asylum seeker by failing to ensure timely access to essential antiretroviral treatment and by subjecting her to inhuman and degrading conditions in the Moria camp on Lesvos.
In its judgment concerning R.M. (application no. 48822/20), the Court found that Greece violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. R.M. was represented by HIAS Greece.
R.M., a woman from Cameroon born in 1986, contracted HIV as a result of rape. She arrived at Moria in December 2019 and informed the Greek authorities of her HIV-positive status. Although the authorities knew that antiretroviral treatment was unavailable on Lesvos, she was kept on the island under “geographical restriction”, a containment policy confining asylum seekers to the Aegean islands. Her HIV diagnosis was confirmed in March 2020 and she was referred to a specialized infections unit in Athens. Although the restriction was subsequently lifted, she did not begin antiretroviral treatment until July 2020 — more than four months after her diagnosis — because of significant and unjustified delays in processing her transfer to the mainland. During this period, her health deteriorated significantly.
The Court found that, given R.M.’s vulnerability and her dependent position as an asylum seeker within the reception system, the more than four-month delay in providing essential HIV treatment could not be regarded as a mere administrative inconvenience. The authorities had therefore failed to ensure timely access to the medical care she required, in violation of Article 3.
The Court also found that the conditions in Moria — overcrowding, lack of access to necessities, lack of heating, inadequate access to sanitary facilities, inappropriate and inadequate food, lack of access to medical care — amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Article 3.
The ruling follows the Court’s 2023 judgment in E.F. v. Greece, concerning another Cameroonian HIV-positive asylum seeker who had contracted HIV as a result of rape. In that case, the Court found a violation of Article 3 following a six-month delay in access to antiretroviral treatment while the applicant was dependent on the Greek reception system.
The Court awarded R.M. €8,000 in non-pecuniary damage.
Reflecting on the judgment, R.M. said:
“The decision of the European Court of Human Rights fills me with joy and emotion. To me, it represents much more than a judicial decision: it is the recognition of the value and dignity of human life, as well as an essential affirmation of the protection of human rights. After all this ordeal, this decision represents immense recognition and deep relief. I sincerely thank all the people who contributed to ensuring that this truth was heard and to defending these fundamental rights. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
For further information:
Elli Kriona Saranti
Elli.kriona@hias.org
