Monthly Archive for November, 2012

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Criminalization of demonstrated solidarity towards imprisoned refugees

Movement for Human Rights of Samos: criminalization of demonstrated solidarity towards imprisoned refugees

Briefing report

Samos, 20 November 2012

In 2010 members of the Movement continued to visit the detention centre of Samos on a weekly basis. Following serious allegations we received by detained refugees and given their inability to address the competent authorities by themselves, we gathered all acquired information and wrote a letter to the Ministry of Citizen Protection requesting to be informed about the manner in which deportations are carried out.
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Hunger strike in Corinth Detention Centre – Riot police and tear gas…..

Today on 18th of November 2012 the detainees of Corinth detention centre started a hungerstrike to protest against the long detention periods (some of them are already more then three months detained) and against the degrading detention conditions (see: older post in infomobile).
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“LOSTINEUROPE” – Interviews about racism in Greece and in Germany

LOSTINEUROPE: racism from the eyes of refugees in Greece and Germany

Afghan detainee of Xanthi in protest

An afghan refugee who is being detained in the new detention centre in the former Xanthi police academy sew his lips in protest against the new maximum detention periods. The authorities immediately called state run KELPNO doctors who examined the health condition of the Afghan and opened the stitches.
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Announcement about the victims of racist violence

Announcement about the victims of racist violence, November 11, 2012
Source: Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Migrants and Refugees Athens

Last weekend was marked by a series of new incidents of racist violence which has by now taken on dramatic dimensions.

In one of these incidents, in the area of Agios Panteleimonas, where racist violence threatens to turn into a pogrom, organised groups indiscriminately attacked migrants, their stores and their houses.

In another incident in Palaio Faliro, an unidentified group stabbed a passerby migrant sending him to hospital.

In the third and most chilling incident, a bakery owner in Salamina, together with his son and two more accomplices, tortured a migrant working in their bakery and abandoned him after chaining him to a tree.

What was the reaction of the State to these incidents?
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Message from Migrants concerning sweep in Patras

November 10th, 2012

We are a group of immigrants, illegal ones, who managed to avoid arrest during the “Xenios Zeus” operations that took place in Patras on the 1st of October. During this operation many of our friends were arrested and are now being held for no reason whatsoever in concentration camps (prisons). The reason for writing these words is because our wish is that our message will reach everyone who lives in Greece so that we can make certain things clear, because the State has molded a much distorted image of us.
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EVROS: Fylakio detention centre planned to be expanded

On November 1st, the mayor of Orestiada anounced that the detention center Fylakio was going to be expanded for the purpose of improved detention conditions but also in order to offer the capacity to detain person for longer periods.

see local news (in Greek)

European Court of Human Rights rulings against Greece for detention conditions 2012

The European Court of Human Rights ruled against Greece in the case of the 29-year-old Chinese Luping Lin, for ill-treatment during detention in Elliniko prison near by Athens in 2010. The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Greece to pay the Chinese citizen 5,000 euros in compensation after wrongly arresting him in Athens and mistreating him during detention. The 29-year-old had entered the country legally in 2006 and obtained a residence permit but was arrested and deported four years later.
kathimerini (in greek)

In the case of Bygylashvili v. Greece of 25. September 2012 Greece was also condemned by the ECHR for detention conditions in Petrou Ralli Aliens Police Directorate. The applicant, Gannet Bygylashvili, a Georgian national, had taken a case against Greece claiming a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment). The Court decided that the detention conditions, after her arrest for irregular entry into the country, in the premises of the Attica sub-directorate with responsibility for foreigners, were inhumane due to the fact of over-crowding, lice infestation and poor quality drinking water.
Source

In the case of Ahmade v. Griechenland of 25. September 2012 Greece was condemned for the detention conditions in two small police stations in Athens. The judgement by the European Court of Human Rights, int the case of Ahmade v. Greece, found that the asylum seeker was wrongfully detained in a police station.
The applicant, Mr Seydmajed Ahmade, is an Afghan national who lives in Athens. He was arrested on several occasions for unlawfully entering Greek territory, and released in August 2008 on condition that he left the country within three months.
In August 2009, Mr Ahmade was arrested for involvement in a fight between foreigners and Greeks. An expulsion order was issued against him and he was placed in detention on the ground that he posed a threat to public order and was likely to abscond.
He was held for 83 days, first in the Aghios Panteleïmon police station, then in the Pagrati police station. Following the dismissal of his asylum application, he was given 60 days to leave the country; he appealed unsuccessfully against that decision.
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“Xenios Dias” sweep operation: 48.402 arrested up to now and 3.668 detained

Mr. Dendias, the country’s public order minister, in August 2012 launched a large-scale sweep operation to arrest and deport illegal immigrants in Athens. At a news conference in August, he compared the influx to the invasion of the Dorians 4,000 years ago. The police operation called ironically „Xenios Zeus“ – after the god of hospitality – began on August 4th, 2012. During three months (August – October 2012) the police temporarily arrested 48.402 migrants of which 3.668 were finally detained.

Source: Hellenic police (in Greek)

Attack against migrant trying to get to Italy from Greece

In the early hours of 5 November, a 31 year-old irregular migrant of Iraqi origin was attacked with a knife by a 50 year-old Turkish truck driver at the new port of Igoumenitsa. The incident occurred when the driver realised that the irregular migrant was trying to hide in the truck in order to pass through the port of Igoumenitsa to Italy. The Iraqi migrant was transferred to the General Hospital of Filiaton, while the driver was arrested by Greek police and prosecuted for grievous physical harm and the use of a weapon.

Source in greek