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Human Rights Lawyers & Advocates Working Beyond Borders

We are an international and multilingual team of human rights lawyers, advocates and interpreters. We work from our main offices in Athens and Berlin, and our field offices on the islands of Chios and Kos.

All of our services are free of charge, because we believe that all people should know about their rights and have access to high quality legal support.

Team Meeting Athens Balcony   Anonymous   2022
Team Meeting Athens Balcony Anonymous 2022. Our Visual Policy.
Offices

Beyond Borders is More Than a Motto for us.

Select an office

Get to know our teams in Athens, Berlin, Chios and Kos and learn more about our projects. Don't hesitate to get in touch.

Our Athens Office

Athens Team Anonymous 2021
Athens Team Anonymous 2021. Our Visual Policy

Our largest office in Athens provides free legal aid, develops and implements strategic litigation, and raises awareness for human rights violations through advocacy. Given the systemic violation of the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, providing legal support to those most in need is essential.

Apart from the daily legal aid work, the Athens office implements five further projects.

In addition, the Athens office covers accounting, general administration, and human resources for all our offices in Greece.

Our Athens Team

Anastasia Balta
Anastasia Balta
Lawyer
Anastasia is an Athens Law School graduate. She holds an LLM in Migration and is currently a PhD candidate in the University of Peloponnese. She has been a licensed lawyer since 2012. She has worked as a case worker for the Greek Asylum Service in Lesvos island, and subsequently as an advocate in the field. Anastasia joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2020.
Aora  Helmzadeh
Aora Helmzadeh
Monitoring & Casworker

Aora Helmzadeh is a journalist and artist from Iran. she studied sociology in Iran and filmmaking at the berlin film school.

    Giorgos Maniatis
    Giorgos Maniatis
    Administrative Coordinator
    Giorgos holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Anthropology from Panteion University Athens. He has been active in the field of asylum and migration for several years and joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2020.
      Iliana Bompou
      Iliana Bompou
      Lawyer & Coordination
      Iliana is a registered lawyer at Athens Bar Association and holds a Master’s degree in International and Human Rights Law. She is specialized in asylum law, with a particular focus on the transnational administrative procedures within the Common European Asylum System. Iliana joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2019.
      Mustafa Noah
      Mustafa Noah
      Interpreter & Caseworker

      Mustafa works as an Arabic interpreter and cultural mediator. He has a vast experience in translation for various non-state and state organisations. After having supported us since 2018 as a volunteer, he joined our team on a permanent basis in 2021.

        Niki Georgiou
        Niki Georgiou
        Director Greece & Member of Management Board

        Niki is a Law School graduate from the National and Capodistrian University of Athens, and she holds an LLM in Human Rights from the University of Strasbourg. Niki joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2017 on Chios, co-founded the Athens office, and is heading our Geek offices since 2020.

        Our Berlin Office

        Berlin Team Anonymous 2022
        Berlin Team Anonymous 2022. Our Visual Policy

        Our Berlin office is responsible for strategic litigation and general coordination. We believe that human rights violations at the EU's external border are a European issue. When asylum seekers are forced to stay in inhumane camps, illegally detained and deported, or denied the right to family reunification, this concerns us all.

        In our Berlin office, we work on three projects.

        Further, our Berlin office does all the essential background work: fundraising, accounting, general administration, social media, human resources and IT infrastructure are indispensable for our work.

        Our Berlin Team

        Anne Pertsch
        Anne Pertsch
        Lawyer & Member of the Management Board
        Anne is working with our team in Berlin as a project coordinator. She studied law in Leipzig and passed her second bar exam at the Kammergericht Berlin. She has profound experience in asylum law, with a particular focus on transnational administrative procedures. Anne joined Equal Right Beyond Borders in 2017 in Chios and has been working with our Berlin office since 2018.
        FLX W
        FLX W
        IT Admin
          Helen  Zaiser
          Helen Zaiser
          Office Manager (Parental Leave)

          Helen is working with Equal Rights Beyond Boarders as the office manager in the Berlin office since 2023. She studied International and Cultural Business Studies and Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability in Barcelona. Helen has formerly worked in food education.

            J M
            J M
            Fundraising & Grantwriting
              Jamie Kessler
              Jamie Kessler
              Coordination & Member of Management Board
              Jamie holds a Juris Doctor from New York University in New York City. She joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2019 as an Arthur Helton Human Rights Fellow and has been working with us ever since.
              Matthias Jakubowski
              Matthias Jakubowski
              Office Manager
                Sarah Oechsle
                Sarah Oechsle
                Finances

                  Our Chios Office

                  Chios Team Anonymous 2022
                  Chios Team Anonymous 2022. Our Visual Policy

                  Our office in Chios provides free legal aid to asylum seekers who are forced to stay in the EU hotspot camp Vial, and raises awareness through advocacy work. While the EU hotspots are no longer in the centre of media attention, systemic human rights violations continue. We have been continuously present in Chios since 2016 and are determined to stay as long as the rights of asylum seekers and refugees are disregarded by EU agencies and Greek authorities.

                  Our Chios Team

                  Ioanna Pavlou
                  Ioanna Pavlou
                  Lawyer & Coordination
                  Ioanna is a registered lawyer in Thessaloniki Bar Association. She studied Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and she holds a Master in European Studies from Aegean University. She worked for METAdrasi’s Legal Aid Team in Lesvos since 2017, and later as a case officer, examining asylum applications in Chios and in North Greece. Ioanna joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in October 2021.
                  Irini Ntali
                  Irini Ntali
                  Interpreter & Caseworker
                  Irini graduated in French literature in Athens. She then gave seminars in French translation and worked as a French teacher in Athens for many years. In December 2021, Irini joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders on Chios.
                    Vivian Gleni
                    Vivian Gleni
                    Lawyer

                    Vivian holds a Law degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and is a member of Piraeus Bar Association since 2010. In 2017, she worked in Chios as a lawyer at the NGO “METAdrasi” Legal Aid program and later as a member of Metadrasi Guardianship Network for Unaccompanied Minors. She joined Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2020.

                    Our Kos Office

                    Discussion with Parliamentarians on Kos
                    Discussion with Parliamentarians on Kos. Our Visual Policy

                    In Kos, we provide free legal aid to those most in need and raise awareness through advocacy work. While the EU hotspots are no longer in the centre of media attention, systemic human rights violations are ongoing. This is why we opened our Kos office in 2021. We won’t look away. We are there and determined to stay as long as the rights of asylum seekers and refugees are disregarded by EU agencies and Greek authorities.

                    The Kos office works on four projects.