On 28 February 2019, the Greek Ombudsman sent an official response to the complaint filed in December 2018 concerning the human rights violations against the elderly Cham who were born in Greece, but are not allowed to cross the border due to harassment and discrimination by the Greek border officials.
President Festim Lato and others have held an intensive lobby campaign in the past two years to create international awareness of the human rights violations against the Cham community and to put pressure on the Greek government to live up to its obligations as a mature democratic State.
The passports of the Cham people who are Albanian citizens are valid travel documents with which they are allowed to visit any country in the Schengen area. The only exception is Greece which claims that the passports of Cham born in Chameria and currently holding Albanian passports are not valid due to the fact that the place of birth does not stipulate the country of Greece, but instead only mentions the town of birth.
Unfortunately, the Greek Ombudsman responded in their three-page letter, reprinted below, that the Greek border authorities act within the limits of their jurisdiction.
