The revocation of a foreign national’s residence permit from Bangladesh and the initiation of deportation proceedings were announced by Minister of Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris, following the posting of a video in which he called on undocumented immigrants to come to Nafplio, claiming that “no one is monitoring them.”
The incident prompted the intervention of the Hellenic Police, which identified the foreign national and filed charges against him.
According to the minister’s statements, this is a foreign national with a legal residence permit who allegedly used social media to call on migrants to enter the country illegally and travel to Nafplio. Mr. Plevris stated that such videos “spread fake news” and are exploited by human trafficking rings to convince illegal migrants to come to the European Union.
Thanos Plevris noted that the foreign national in question had been identified by the police and that a case file had been opened against him. At the same time, as he announced, he instructed the relevant authorities to revoke his residence permit and initiate deportation proceedings, in accordance with the new provisions of the Immigration Code.
This case falls under the stricter framework that the Ministry of Migration and Asylum is seeking to implement in cases which, according to the government, are linked to encouraging illegal migration flows or to the dissemination of misleading content that could be exploited by human trafficking networks. Remaining in the country also entails specific obligations.
Plevris’s statement comes at a time when the government is placing particular emphasis on returns, deportations, and combating human trafficking networks, with the ministry emphasizing that illegal entry and aiding it cannot go unpunished. In the case of Nafplio, the minister’s political message is that even legally residing foreigners may face revocation of their residence permits and deportation, provided they are involved in actions deemed detrimental to public order.
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