A Greek court has ruled that new asylum seekers arriving in the country cannot be restricted to a group of islands where refugees have been placed in squalid conditions over the past few years.

Amnesty International’s migration researcher Irem Ar said, “Forcing asylum-seekers to stay on the Greek islands, often in squalid, overcrowded conditions, is deeply unfair. With the highest court in Greece now having ruled that the government had no grounds for this inhumane containment, the authorities must now allow all newly arriving asylum-seekers into mainland Greece.” Ar added, “However, this will not address the intense overcrowding on the islands. People already there should also be swiftly transferred to mainland Greece and out of such unacceptable living conditions.”

The Wall Street Journal said that the decision “could alleviate dire conditions on the islands, but might derail a pact between the European Union and Turkey to keep a lid on arrivals.”