GREECE: Human Rights Watch report cites discrimination against immigrants by Greek police

Record ID: 348604

  • Title: GREECE: Human Rights Watch report cites discrimination against immigrants by Greek police
  • Date: 13th June 2013
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JUNE 11 2013) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPRESENTATIVE, EVA COSSE, SAYING: "What we are saying is that the police needs to focus more on information, where real criminals are gathering, and base their operation on real facts, and not on stereotypes." VARIOUS OF GUINEAN IMMIGRANT DIELLO NIAMADOU WALKING IN ATHENS SQUARE WITH COSSE
  • Embargoed: 28th June 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Crime,General
  • Reuters ID: LVACMCC9GHLVZLPRUBC7G5SBVHUY
  • Story Text: Immigrants in the Greek capital Athens have suffered improper conduct by police as part of authorised checks to curb illegal immigration, Human Rights Watch has said in a report on Tuesday (June 11).
    Since August 2012 police have made regular sweeps of the city as part of an operation to crack down on illegal immigration called 'Xenios Zeus'.
    Greece has been overwhelmed by illegal migrants crowding into populated areas and it has sparked complaints from residents in cities. As part of the procedure migrants are asked for their legal documentation and if they fail to produce it are placed in police vans and later deported.
    The report released by the organization states that immigrants or asylum seekers with legal documents are being picked up and detained in police stations for long hours despite being in the country legally.
    Some 85,000 foreigners were taken to police stations for document checks between August and February but only six percent were illegal, according to the report. The report also documents actions of stereotyping, physical and verbal abuse.
    "Our conclusion is that operation Xenios Zeus leaves a lot of space for widespread violation of rights in terms of discrimination, of the right to liberty, but also in terms of intrusive searches, body searches," said Eva Cosse, representative of Human Rights Watch.
    "Most of the people we interviewed complained about rude behaviour, threatening behaviour, insults and sometimes racist insults. We also documented four cases of physical abuse by the police," she added.
    Cosse said the police have a right to control illegal immigration but there was a lack of training in how to deal with immigrants and asylum seekers.
    "What we are saying is that the police needs to focus more on information: where real criminals are gathering, and base their operation on real facts, and not on stereotypes," said Cosse.
    Immigrant said police used the term 'blacks' to refer to a group of immigrants that were picked up.
    Some 44 immigrants in Athens who have been stopped by police were interviewed for the report , 35 of which had legal papers.
    Forty-two year old Diello Niamadou from Guinea has been in Greece for 20 years. He is a legal immigrant and works as a technician at a company that makes conveyor belts.
    The father of three says he is constantly stopped on the street for a document check, even outside his home. Police are continuously taking him to the police station despite the fact that his papers are in order.
    "When they do checks on the street, they ask you if you have legal documents. You show them your documents, but they drag you to the police station. They hold you there for as long as they want without telling you anything, without saying anything. They hold you for five hours, eight hours, and then suddenly they give you back your documents and tell you to leave. I ask myself why do they do this? Is this humane," he said.
    He said has also suffered verbal abuse from police officers.
    "Police officers are supposed to protect you, not speak to you in a rude way, or swear at you," he added.
    Racist acts have risen since last year when an anti-immigrant party was voted into parliament.
    Niamadou says racism was not an issue in Greece in the past and has only felt the change in attitude recently.
    "We also have the right to live like human beings in this country, the home of democracy," he said.
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