Infomobile
A young male from Pakistan aged 27 was murdered yesterday late in the morning at approximately 3.30am, at the area of Petralona in the centre of Athens. The perpetrators were two Greek men aged 28 and 24 years old. The young Pakistani was attacked with a knife and died shortly afterwards. After the murder the two men tried to ride away on their motorbike, but the neighbours and eyewitness of the murder kept track of their license plates, they were arrested soon thereafter near Syntagma square by the Police. Anti-racist organizations are calling for a protest in the neighbourhood today in the afternoon. Police still didnt make any official statement concerning the perpretator’s motivation but everyone in the area is talking about a racist murder.
According to some recent news the perpetrators attacked the man because he had not given them priority (who were riding a motorbike) while he was riding his bicycle.
The first two corpses were found on Sunday 13th of January at 9 o ‘clock in the morning by fishermen in two different beaches of the island Chios. A third corpse was found by the coast guard around 2pm at yet another beach. According to first information by the Coroner the persons died of drowning within the last 48 hours before being found.
At the meantime on Saturday 12th of January three migrants were found alive on the island Panagia Oinousson inside fish cages. They are from Palestine and Iran. As two of them reported they had tried to reach Chips island from Cesme in turkey in the night of Thursday. Their boat turned around and they swam for more than 10 hours to reach the island. It is yet unknown if there were more persons inside the same boat.
Today, the single-judge formation of the Criminal Court of First Instance of Igoumenitsa in northwestern Greece (Μονομελές Πλημμελειοδικείο Ηγουμενίτσας) has returned a remarkable decision (Nr 682/2012) in a prosecution brought against a number of immigrants awaiting expulsion who escaped a local detention centre. The decision was taken in November 2012 for the case of almost 15 migrants who had escaped from Igoumenitsa prison only one month earlier (September 30th). As the judge ruled: “You escaped from humiliation and this is why you are free now!” Many of the in Greece detained migrants try to escape the up to 18 months reaching administrative detention but are caught sooner or later then finding themselves charged with “escape” and other criminal categories, that might put them behind the bars for even longer periods.
The facts of the case are as follows: On the night of 30 September to 1 October 2012, fifteen immigrants detained in Thesprotia Police Headquarters (for having illegally entered Greece) wrestled the guards who had entered their cell to remove the garbage and escaped. They were later apprehended and charged with escape under the Greek Criminal Code (Article 173 para 1).
Continue reading ‘“Not guilty”, found the Court of Igoumenitsa in the case of migrants who were charged “escape from prison’”’
Greek police have stepped up efforts to catch illegal immigrants in recent months, launching a new operation to check the papers of people who look foreign. But tourists have also been picked up in the sweeps – and at least two have been badly beaten.
When Korean backpacker Hyun Young Jung was stopped by a tall scruffy looking man speaking Greek on the street in central Athens he thought it might be some kind of scam, so he dismissed the man politely and continued on his way.
A few moments later he was stopped again, this time by a man in uniform who asked for his documents. But as a hardened traveller he was cautious.
Continue reading ‘The tourists held by Greek police as illegal migrants, By Chloe Hadjimatheou / BBC’
Police raid and search at the Athens University of Economics and Business (ASOEE) on Patission street, 28.12.2012
found at: contra info
From the outset, this police operation was used to repress the political hangouts in the faculty of ASOEE. After the raid on Villa Amalias squat on December 20th, the State chose to strike another ‘den of lawlessness’, namely one of the studios as well as the rooftop antenna of the Athens free radio station 98FM downtown. Please spread the word far and wide…
Continue reading ‘Athens: The faculty of ASOEE raided, immigrant street vendors beaten and arrested, and 98FM equipment confiscated by cops’
Committee against Torture
27 June 2012 / Document CAT/C/GRC/CO/5-6
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention
Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture: Greece
(…)
Allegations of torture and ill-treatment, impunity
10. The Committee expresses its serious concern at persistent allegations of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials during arrest or detention, including in the premises of the Criminal Investigation Departments (CID). The Committee is also concerned at the limited number of such cases that have been prosecuted, the very limited number of final convictions, and the lack of sanctions due to mitigating circumstances etc, in cases where there have been convictions. The Committee notes that this does not correspond to recent decisions and rulings from international bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as persistent allegations and extensive documentation received from other sources. The Committee also reiterates its concern at the continued reluctance of prosecutors to institute criminal proceedings under article 137A of the Criminal Code and that only one case has resulted in a conviction under this article. In addition, the Committee shares the concern of the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture regarding the limited forensic evidence available to corroborate allegations of ill-treatment amounting to torture (arts. 1, 2, 4, 12 and 16).
(…) Continue reading ‘Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture: Greece / June 2012’
(Brussels) – The European Union and its member states should do more to help the thousands of Syrian asylum seekers trying to reach Europe as the Syrian crisis worsens and winter sets in, Human Rights Watch said today.
Between March 2011 and September 2012, 21,000 Syrians claimed asylum in the European Union. While some EU countries offer Syrians safety, in others, including Greece, they face detention, significant obstacles in getting protection, and even forced return, Human Rights Watch said.
“Syrians seeking asylum in the European Union face a protection lottery depending on which country they reach,” said Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The EU should make sure that Syrian refugees and others who need protection can find a safe haven in all EU member states just as they have in countries bordering Syria.”
Continue reading ‘HRW 2012: EU: Provide Protection for Syrian Refugees’