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.
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 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.
Aora Helmzadeh is a journalist and artist from Iran. she studied sociology in Iran and filmmaking at the berlin film school.
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 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 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.
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.
Robert is the Director of Equal Rights Beyond Borders. He co-founded Equal Rights Beyond Borders in 2016 and has worked with us ever since.
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.
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.
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.
Sofia is a graduate of Democritus University of Thrace, Law School and member of Nafplio Bar Association since 2015. In 2020, she worked in Kos as lawyer-member of GCR's legal unit - UNHCR legal aid program for general refugee population. She join our office on Kos in 2022.