Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

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People protest against planned new detention centre in Aghia Barbara Hospital, Athens

Published on March 28, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

Hospitals are closed; detention centres opened

Aghia Barbara Hospital in Aigaleo, Athens has been announced to become one of the new detention centres for migrants in Athens adding to the alreaady existing 5,000 places in mass detention centres that were opened after August 4th, 2012 Operation Xenios Dias.

Antiracist organisations, labour unions, municipal movements and neighbours protested against the change into a detention centre and demanded the re-opening of the hospital. They stopped bulldozers from entering the to be construction site. Also the mayor expressed that there was no interest by the local government to accept this measure and that he would proceed to protect peoples lives. Consequently the re-construction was temporarily stopped but will continue after elections, Minister Dendias said. As he continued the government planned an open camp for men and women there and not a detention centre. Nonetheless and given the Ministers tradition in anti-migratory policies no one trusts his statement.

The government meanwhile plans to open also detention centres in other recently closed down hospitals of West-Athens such as the Therapeftirio Chronion Pathiseon Paidon in Sxistou and Skaramanga street.

efymerida ton syndakton (in greek)
left.gr (in greek)
efymerida ton syndakton (in greek)

Greece wants to detain migrants now more than 18 months

Published on March 27, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed

Detention centres are called “pre-removal centres”; indefinite detention duration is called “protection from the poverty of freedom.

The Legal Council of State on February 11th issued a disgraceful opinion the detention duration of migrants / refugees (No. 44/2014). It pretty much says that after the expiry of the 18-month (maximum) detention of aliens, they can still be held for an indefinite period. This extended detention which is against European Law is called “caveat of compulsory residence in a pre-removal centre” and as such is only ending in case of co-operation for voluntary return.

If an immigrant is detained for more than 18 months in total following the previous deportation decision (Article 30 of Law 3907/2011 or 76 L.3386/2005 respectively), the implementation of which has not been feasible because of a refusal of cooperation of the immigrant himself, the competent authorities may, in a reasonable time before the expiry of the 18 months hand the immigrant a writing deadline for his voluntary departure from the country, according to the provisions of Article 22 of Law 3907/2011 and 76 of Law 3386/2005. If the immigrant still refuses to cooperate for the implementation of the deportation decision, the relevant bodies, when they find him to be reasonably suspect of escape may automatically by Articles 22 paragraph 3 of Law 3907/2011 or Article 78 of Law 3386/2005 impose upon him the measure of “compulsory residence in an area of detention” until he will consent and cooperated in implementing the deportation decision.

Continue reading ‘Greece wants to detain migrants now more than 18 months’

Commissioner Muižnieks calls on the Greek Parliament to reject the amendment to Article 19 of the draft immigration code

Published on March 26, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

“I am seriously concerned about the introduction by the government of the amendment to Article 19 of the draft immigration code which would allow deportation following the rejection of any migrant’s complaint that they have been victim of racist or other unlawful violence by law enforcement officers.

This amendment is ill-advised and should not be adopted. In effect, it shifts the burden of proof onto the migrant complainants and introduces one more ground for deporting migrants who may have been subjected to unlawful violence but have been unable to substantiate their claims.
Continue reading ‘Commissioner Muižnieks calls on the Greek Parliament to reject the amendment to Article 19 of the draft immigration code’

Greece wants to deport the ones who report racist violence once they loose their case

Published on March 23, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , .

While impunity of racist violence remains a persistent problem in Greece, the Greek government not only refrains from addressing it, but is proceeding to institutionalize it, and furthermore to penalize its victims! Last week it submitted to parliament an amendment to the country’s Immigration Code that mandates the deportation of immigrants who accuse state employees of using violence against them, in case their claims are officially rejected. It is hair-raising: this provision is a deterrent, punishing not the aggressors but the victims.

The Minister of Interior has temporarily redrawn from the amendment but announced it will be back next week. At the same time the whole article 19 of the code is gone, which concerns the possibility to receive a residence permit on humanitarian grounds also for victims of racist violence.

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enet (in english)

Another refugee boat in distress between Bodrum and Kos

Published on March 18, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , .

your seas have the smell of migrants corpses

your seas have the smell of migrants corpses


Turkish coast guards saved 3 refugees whose boat got in distress between Bodrum and Kos. Four persons drowned and one is still missing.

todays zaman (in english)

7 refugees dead, 2 missing after shipwreck near Lesvos island

Published on March 18, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

Shortly after midnight, in the early morning hours of the 18th MArch 2014 two refugees were saved from a Turkish Cargo near Lesvos island. As they reported their boat had half sank despite the good weather conditions. Two boats of the Greek coast guard, one helicopter, a fisherboat and a search and rescue boat started searching for the other refugees. There were 17 persons on board among them also babies. A girl and a man were found dead already and later another 3 women, one boy and a man were found inside the boat near Korakas beach. Another 8 men were saved around 2:30 in the morning. Two men are still missing. The refugees are from Syria.


ta nea (in greek)
lesvos news (in greek)
kokkino radio (in greek)
tvxs (in greek)
efimerida ton syndakton (in greek)
Hellenic Coast Guard (in greek)

Police officer hits an immigrant after asking for a painkiller in Amigdaleza detention centre

Published on February 24, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

The allegation is made by KEERFA- movement against racism and fascist threat and the Pakistani Community in Greece. As they mention:

“A police officer in Amygdaleza hit an immigrant when he asked for a painkiller. Huram Bashir Sahzat, detainee number 2663, wing A3, room 6, in the detention centre of Amygdaleza reported to KEERFA and to the Pakistani community of Greece that today at 18:45 he was hit by a police officer in the presence of his fellow inmates. Continue reading ‘Police officer hits an immigrant after asking for a painkiller in Amigdaleza detention centre’

Refugees describe dire conditions in migrant detention centre Corinth

Published on February 24, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

GlobalPost documentary shows footage recorded inside Corinth camp

Granted political asylum in December, Farhad, detained for 14 months at the detention centre in Corinth, said detainees were packed scores to a room and often beaten by police. In protest at the appalling conditions, he and others sowed their mouths together and went on hunger strike

“We didn’t have any choice so we started a hunger strike, we sewed up our mouth and we stopped eating and drinking. Anyone will do whatever it takes to get his freedom. Some people have tried to commit suicide to get free, others went crazy in there,” he told Anna Giralt Gris, who made the documentary.

Former detainees have spoken out about the appalling conditions inside the government’s migrant detention centres, in a short documentary that offers a rare glimpse into what the government calls migrant pre-removal facilities.

Amigdaleza detention centre (photo: reuters)

Amigdaleza detention centre (photo: reuters)

Continue reading ‘Refugees describe dire conditions in migrant detention centre Corinth’

Pogrom against Turkish political refugees in Greece continues

Published on February 18, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

In a press conference on February 18th, organised by the Solidarity Committee for Political Prisoners in Turkey and Kurdistan, the advocates Aleka Zorbala and John Rachiotis spoke about the recent arrest of four more Turkish refugees on February 10th in Gkyzi area in Athens.

The arrest is a continuance of a pogrom the Greek government carries out since all over 2013 against Turkish activists who live as refugees in Greece and during which more than 16 persons have already been prosecuted. The Turkish refugees in Greece have been exposed to threats, house searches kidnappings from the street, arrests, torture and arrests. As the lawyers stated during the press conference in case of a extradition to Turkey the lives of their clients are in immediate danger.
Continue reading ‘Pogrom against Turkish political refugees in Greece continues’

Numbers of arrested migrants/refugees in Greece decrease by 46,2% / Asylum Service published statistics

Published on February 9, 2014 in Uncategorized. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

The Greek Police in its most recent statistics on 2013 anounced that police and coast guard together from January to December of the same year had arrested 39.759 foreigners without papers instead of 73.976 in 2012. This is a decrease of 46,2%.

From January to November 2013 “only” 955 foreigners were arrested in Evros at the land border to Turkey for “illegal entry”. In 2012 the number outreached 30,000.

While there was an overall decrease in arrivals there was also a shift of migration routes from the land border to the Aegean sea. In Mytilene 3,539 persons were arrested from January to November 2013 compared to 1,101 in the year before. On Samos island 2,914 were arrested in 2013 compared to 884 in 2012. In total 10,481 persons were arrested in he Aegean for “illegal entry” compared to 2,960 in 2012.

The largest group among the 39,759 arrested in Greece in 2013 are ALbanians (14,366), followed by Syrians (7,665), Afghans (5,960), Pakistani (3,744) and Bangladeshi (1,398).

Furthermore, from August 2012 (start of operation Xenios Dias) to the end of 2013 34,808 persons (either through IOM “voluntarily” either in deportations carried out by the Greek police and sometimes in cooperation with Frontex). In 2013 26.186 persons were returned compared to 22.117 in 2012 – an increase of 18,4%.

In 2012 40 persons were returned to Greece based on Dublin procedures from other EU-countries.

kathimerini (in greek)

Asylum Service

According to the president of the Service the Athens office takes 40 asylum applications per day while another 10-20 are taken in the other offices (Orestiada and Alexandroupoli / Evros, Rhodes and Mytilene / Aegean. Mobile units also work in Amigdaleza prison and in Thessaloniki. More offices are planned in Samos, Chios, Heraklion and Patras.). The backlog which is still proceeded by the Aliens Police in Petrou Ralli has been decreased to 27,000.

NGOs though criticise the long queues at Katechaki street, the malfunctioning of a proper procedure to filter vulnerable cases and the insufficiency of translation in all languages. More than hat, the Asylum Service seems to be supportive and thus cooperative with the Greek Police concerning the long detention of asylum applicants.

The Asylum Office states that asylum applications of detainees are proceeded within 43 days (compared to the aim of proceeded the other asylum cases in a period of 90 days).

Within 7 months the asylum service which started its work on June 7th, 2013 has proceeded 5.577 asylum applications from 77 countries.

The asylum recognition rate reaches from around zero for nationals from Albania and Georgia up to 99,1% for Syrians and 100% for Somalis. In average the first decision comes after 63 days.

In the first stance decision from June 7th 2013 to end of January 2014 11,6% received political asylum and 5,2% subsidiary. Most of them come from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Eritrea and Sudan. Compared to that in 2012 the overall recognition rate was 0,9%.

Currently 207 persons work for the Asylum Service.

In 2013 674 persons who had applied for family reunification under Dublin III were accepted to leave Greece.

kathimerini (in greek)