Afghan Minor severely injured in Patras

In the early morning of December 20, 2011 the police stormed the building of a former fabric where a couple of Afghans have set up their provisory shelter. Most of them are underage. In this atmosphere of panic one of the minors while trying to escape the police raid fell of the second floor of the building. He was severely injured.
The other Afghan sans-papiers later told to the Solidarity Movement for Migrants and Refugees of Patras, that the police saw the young boy falling but did not call an ambulance or react in any other supportive manner.
One of the Afghans called the ambulance. The hospital denied to send an ambulance in the beginning. In a second call he told the hospital that the boy was severely injured and might have even died. Then an ambulance came and brought him to St. Andreas Hospital of Patras.
Later in the evening the Solidarity group visited the boy in the hospital and talked to the doctors. The boy had been operated in order to remove blood from the inner of his head. The boy was in intensive care and in coma being held alive with machines.
Nobody knows if things would have been better if he would have been transferred sooner to the hospital. Anyway, both police who did not help while witnessing the accident, and the hospital who only reacted in a second stance are unacceptable. Lets hope that the young Afghan will pay with his life.

Press Release of the Solidarity Group of Patras
Salata TV (news in greek)

The Trial about the torture of Afghan refugees by police officers from St. Panteleimonas ended

Press Release
Athens, 20/12/2011

The trial of the police officers from St. Panteleimonas about the case of torture ended

Today the Mixed Jury Criminal Court of Athens, which hears felonies in the first degree, sentenced two policemen (one of them already left the police force), for the sensational torture case of Afghan refugees by officers of the St. Panteleimon police station (in December 2004) to 5 years and 5 years plus 5 months respectively. The trial had started on 21.10.2011 and ended on December 20, 2011.

Continue reading ‘The Trial about the torture of Afghan refugees by police officers from St. Panteleimonas ended’

Greek Health Minister demands deportation of AIDS infected migrant women!

HIV infected migrant women should be deported, said Andreas Loverdos the Greek Health Minister in a conference about the public health.

“The infection goes from the illegal migrant women to the Greek client, into the Greek family.”

Mr. Loverdos, Greek Minister of Health

According to Health Minister Andreas Loverdos, drug addiction and illegal prostitution, especially when combined with illegal migration, were the main culprits for the rise in the rate of HIV infection.

From about 620 brothels and “studios” only seven are legal and from around 20.000 brothels workers only 1.200 are registered according to the Minister. As he continued, the Ministry of Health has handed information about the illegal prostitution to the Citizen Protection Ministry for the reasons of protecting the “public health”. His speech ended: “The infected women should leave Greece!”

see: in Greek on altherthess

more racist assaults and attacks….

As reported by different antiracist groups, the around 140 Afghans and Pakistanis living and working in Timbaki, Crete, experience for a long period repeated racist assaults by a group of 10-15 fascists. The fascists threaten them telling them to not only leave Crete but also Greece.

Greek news

Meanwhile, during the court case of the 16th December against the marines who were shouting racist slogans last year another group of 10 fascists was attacking migrants who were simply passing by in the area close to the court in Piraeus.

indymedia in greek

More immigrants deported by EU-funded flights

More immigrants deported by EU-funded flights

Posted by clandestina on 16 December 2011

A charter plane carrying 42 Pakistani and 41 Afghani nationals left Athens for Islamabad and Kabul on Thursday (December 15, 2011). The same day 24 Egyptians, 1 Sudanese, 1 Ukrainian and 1 Rumanian were deported by cargo planes and 7 Albanians were deported by police vans. All deportation were funded by EU.

A similar deportation took place on December 1, 2011, one more on November, 10, 2011 and another one on October 19, 2011. Since March 2011, when Greece deported some 73 Dominicans, expulsion flights are taking place on a monthly basis.

Video: Caught up in the sea border between Turkey and Greece

Caught up in the sea between Turkey and Greece for some days Afghan refugees suffer from hunger and thirst.

Greece: Rare Hate Crime Trial Opens

Human Rights Watch says: Comprehensive Action Needed to Tackle Wave of Racist Violence
DECEMBER 12, 2011

The prosecution of this vicious attack sends an important message, but it is the tip of the iceberg. If the authorities responded properly to racist violence, this trial would be one of many instead of a rarity.
Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher
Link (english)
Continue reading ‘Greece: Rare Hate Crime Trial Opens’

Two refugee boats saved in the Ionian Sea

Two refugee boats that had departed from the Greek coast towards Italy were saved on monday by the Italian Coast Guard. The approx. 80 refugees were mainly from Afghanistan. They had been one week on the sea. Most of them were dehydrated, without food and water when they were found.

Hunger strike of Syrian sans papiers in the prison of Iraklio, Crete since 3rd of December!

50 Syrian sans-papiers who had been arrested in Crete and are currently detained in the police station of the islands city Iraklio started a hungerstrike on the 3rd of December protesting against the inhuman and degrading detention conditions. Three of them had to be transferred already to hospital. According to the detainees they suffer from hunger, lacking medication, they have no right to go outside even for using the toilette. Reportedly, they have become victims of police violence.

news in Greek

Refugee and main witness of the murder by a coast guard arrested

The Greek police arrested a refugee who is main witness of a murder case, where a coast guard officer from Igoumenitsa is being accused of murdering another refugee.

Sali is a Kurdish Refugee with serious health problems (he has only one lung) and he is the main witness for a murder case, where Greek coast guard shot Arivan, another migrant, to death in the port city of Igoumenitsa. He has to participate in the court case as witness on the 16th of December. Anyway, he was arrested on the 2nd of December in Crete. Originally the police was called to his place by neighbours for some small argument, but when they found the call to the court in his flat which clearly says that he is a witness against the coast guard he was immediately arrested, badly beaten and brought to the public prosecutor who ordered an administrative deportation for Sali. This police action was clearly a revenge. Sali was released on the 3rd, while his brother and another sans-papiers, both arrested together with Sali, remained in prison with the aim of their deportation.

Sources:
Indymedia Athens in August 2011 (in greek)
Indymedia Athens August 2011 (in greek)
Indemedia Athens December 2011 (in greek)