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.
Continue reading ‘Afghan detainee of Xanthi in protest’
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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.
One month ago the village Parenesti near Drama was chosen to become the location of one of the “new type” detention centres of Greece where the masses of arrested during the permanent sweeps are being transferred to. Today a number of 150 sans-papiers is detained in the former army camp. There are about 40 persons crowded in each cell while capacities have been largely ignored as usually.
The former army camp has been turned into a detention centre of the new kind.
There is not enough food, basic hygiene is not secured while there is no access to leisure time outside for the detainees until today. Since their mobile phones have been taken away by the police detainees have no access at all to the outside world, i.e. to family, friends or lawyers. Most of the detainees have no money to buy telephone cards instead.
The provisory detention centre for sans-papiers was opened about four months ago in an overnight action by the Ministry of Citizen Protection and Public Order. It is one of three mass detention centres – the others are located in Xanthi and in Komotini – which were set up by the new government in the summer to fit the thousand arrested sans-papiers captured during the Xenios Dias sweep operation. There have been repeated protests by the mayor of Corinth against the creation of this detention centre. He even reached the point to cut off the water supply.
Corinth provisory detention center in a former army camp
The building was originally an army camp at the outskirts of Corinth city. Sans-papiers were arrested in massive sweeps and were brought from various places, such as Corinth and Patras, to this detention centre. A couple of NGOs have tried ever since to enter the prison in order to monitor the situation, screen the detainees and offer legal aid, but access has been denied. They could only see a hand full of detainees of whom they had their names in advance.
Yesterday, solidarity groups from Patras and Corinth but also from other places hold a protest in front of the detention centre. A delegation of seven persons entered the detention centre (with 2 parliamentarians of Syriza, a doctor, a lawyer, interpreters and members of the Movement for the Support of the Rights of Refugees and Migrant of Patras as well as the Antirascist Initiative of Corinth) More than 650 persons were detained in the overcrowded detention centre for the reason of “illegal entry”, “illegal stay” or “illegal exit” to/in/from Greece.
Detainees reported to the delegation that they were lacking warm water, they have insufficient food, no access to information and lawyers and seldom visits of doctors always without any interpreters, many lack medicine they need to take and thus remain sick in their cells.
Among the detainees were many minors, there were family fathers whose families upon their arrest were left behind without anyone to take care, there were persons who wanted to apply for asylum but could not manage and others who had applied 4 months earlier but were not released within the legal maximum period of detention for asylum seekers (3 months). Others had managed to apply for asylum but received during detention the rejection and lacked any information and legal aid to appeal within the given period of 15 days, therefore, falling out of the asylum system.
Reportedly, there are also many cases of ill-treatment by the authorities.
No concentration camps!
Never and nowhere!
see also older articles:
zougla tv (in greek)
letter by the syndicate of the police concerning hygiene in the detention centre of Corinth, October 17, 2012 (in greek)
read also the press release of the NGO AITIMA, September 13, 2012 (in greek)