Accodring to local media a boat carrying 38 sans-papiers from Turkey into the Greek sea got into distress at sea Tuesday 4, 2012 when the greek coast guard started hunting it down and opened fire. The passengers were saved and arrested and are currently in provisory detention.
information with, about and for refugees in Greece
Tag Archive for 'greece'
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Frontex to Increase Sea and Air Patrols in Aegean at Greece’s Request
by Niels Frenzen (via Migrants at Sea)
Greek news reports say that Greek officials have made requests to Commissioner Malmström and Frontex for assistance to respond to “increasing migratory pressures on the islands of the Eastern Aegean.” The Greek islands of Lesvos, Samos, Patmos, Leros and Symi in particular have reportedly seen an increase in the number of persons entering from nearby Turkish territory. According to the media reports the assistance will include the deployment of “four aerial vehicle[s], four patrol boats, three mobile surveillance units and eight expert officers, whose costs will be covered by EU funds the agency and the European Commission.”
35 Syrians who are detained since 9 days on the roof of Samos Port authorities began yesterday a hunger strike including the 6 children among them. until today they were not given any access to the asylum procedure in Greece although some of them are even are already recognized as Palestinian refugees in Syria.
At the same time two Afghan families with 4 children where discovered by chance at the police station of Karlovasi.
Read the Press Release of the Solidarity Group of Samos (in Greek)
press release 1
press release 2
A crackdown on the influx of undocumented immigrants entering Greece via the land border with Turkey has apparently resulted in people smugglers changing their routes as increasing numbers of migrants are being intercepted on the islands of the Aegean, authorities say.
This month police and coast guard officers detained 146 undocumented immigrants on the islands of Symi, Farmakonisi, Samos and Lesvos, compared to 68 on the islands of the Dodecanese in the first half of this year. On Tuesday, 40 migrants — chiefly Afghans, Syrians and Palestinians — were stopped on Symi and 39 — mostly Afghans — on Farmakonisi.
Continue reading ‘Migrants reverting to Aegean route?’
Statisticians and magicians
By Dimosthenis Papadatos – Anagnostopoulos
originally published in Greek in: Red Notebook
One out of five. These are the “illegals” that the Police discovered in the first 12 days of the (ongoing) “Zeus Xenios” sweep operation. And what does this ratio reveal to us?
First of all, the obvious: 6.344 persons were arbitrarily arrested, even though they legally reside in Greece and they have never committed any offence.
They were simply arrested because of the color of their skin – and probably on conviction that criminality does not exclusively apply to the “illegal” ones. In the end, those legally residing in the country are still aliens.
Continue reading ‘Statisticians and magicians’
While the police is operating a huge sweep in Athens and Evros since August 2nd, racist attacks are getting more. Migrants communities speak of more than 500 hate crimes in the last six months and an organised wave of hate crimes in the last days.
Continue reading ‘more than 500 fascist attacks against migrants in the last six months!!!!’
on august 10, 2012 another 32 persons were deported from athens. among them: 4 chinese, 1 armenian, one lithouanian, 2 rumanians, one sierra leonian and 23 albaniands.
the images remind of other times….
Greek police released this video of todays sweep operation in the early morning hours at Larissis Railway Station in Athens:
In a press release of August 10 the police summed up that amongst others within the frame of the operation “Xenios Zeus”:
– 6.690 migrants were arrested
– 1.555 were detained because they were lacking legal residence papers
– 52 private houses were searched
and by the economic police:
– 103 shops were controlled
– 23 brothels were controlled, 48 persons were arrested and 22 were ordered administrative deportation
– Another 172 street sex workers were arrested
Greek police evict immigrants from Athens
Greek police arresting women and children
Following the operation “Xenos Zeus” Greek police arrested on Saturday 4, August 2012 in Athens 4.900 persons of which 1.130 were brought in for questioning. The police in a press release of the same day claimed that “national survival” was at stake for debt-choked Greece. The aim of the operation was “to send them back to their countries of origin, close the borders and ensure that Athens returns to being a lawful city with a quality of life,” police spokesman Christos Manouras said. 88 of the arrested are planned to be deported on Sunday August 5 in the night from Athens airport. The majority of them are from Pakistan.
Operation Xenios Zeus, ironically named after the name of the king of the ancient Greek gods in his role as protector of guests, mobilised 2,000 police in Athens and another 1,800 on Greece’s eastern border with Turkey. Continue reading ‘Massive sweep operation in Athens since August 2, 2012’
The Huffington Post, 31 march 2012
ATHENS, Greece
Greece is quadrupling the number of guards at its border with Turkey and boosting other defenses in part because of a potential
influx of Syrian refugees, a government minister said Monday.
Greece is the busiest entry point for illegal immigrants trying to reach the European Union. Turkey, meanwhile, is hosting thousands of Syrians who have been fleeing their country’s civil war. Continue reading ‘NEWS: Greece Border Controls Toughened Over Potential Influx Of Syrian Refugees’