GREECE: A STATEWATCH REPORT ON LESVOS DETENTION CAMP

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

May 11, 2014, a mission of Statewatch visit the detention center Moria, on the island of Lesbos, and reports on its observation. The center, still unfinished, has a capacity of 150 seats, but the parties to be built can raise its capacity of hundreds of places. It should function as a reception center before transfer after a few days people to Athens, but its foreseeable developments should allow retention over the long term. This are a way to welcome in Europe, according to European policies, people who seek protection.

The report (in English) can be downloaded here.

 

 

GREECE: A TEENAGER SELF-INJURES IN DETENTION

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece, minors

On the island of Lesvos, the shelter for unaccompanied foreign minors closed for lack of funds. By cons, a detention center, including a part  for first reception and identification and a part for retention before the expulsion, was built and opened by European funding. Minors are locked until a place in a reception center for minors elsewhere in Greece is available. One of them, aged 17, self-injured in protest against his imprisonment.

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/07/18/17-year-old-afghan-self-injured-himself-to-protest-detention-in-lesvos/

Here the press release of Welcome to Europe and the Village of all together (Lesvos):

http://lesvos.w2eu.net/2014/07/21/press-release-unaccompanied-minor-severely-self-injured-himself-in-moria-first-reception-detention-centre-in-lesvos/

” Press Release: Unaccompanied minor severely self-injured himself in Moria “first reception” detention centre in Lesvos
PRESS RELEASE 21.07.14 Lesvos

On 17/7/2014 a 17-year-old Afghan who had been detained for many days in Moria awaiting his transfer to a special reception centre for minors cut his arms in an act of despair and protest as he could not stand anymore being closed up for many days and under such conditions. He was transferred to the psychiatry department of the local hospital.

In Greece there are 10 reception centres for unaccompanied minors with about 330 places in total that need to cover the needs of thousands. At the same time that a vast number of reception places are lacking many minors fear long detention upon arrival in Greece in so called First Reception Camps (detention centres) if they register with their real age and register themselves as adults. The background: Unaccompanied minors arriving in first reception centres have to undergo a number of medical examinations and then wait for a place in one of the overcrowded reception centres in order to be released. The detention duration varies and can reach one month or more months, while delays depend on the crowdedness in the reception facilities.

As a consequence hundreds of unaccompanied minors register as adults. They are being transferred to Pre-removal Detention Centres at the mainland, such as Amigdaleza, Corinth, Komotini, Xanthi, Fylakio or Drama / Parenesti where legal aid is not existing. When they realise that they end up facing 18 months detention or more due to their changed age all of them try to find ways to proof that they are minors.

Anyhow, if age-assesment has taken place already in First Reception Detention it is unlikely if not impossible (without the help of a
lawyer) the authorities will approve a second age-assesment later. Age-assesment procedures have been recently defined in a Ministerial
Decision for First Reception but not for Pre-Removal Detention Centres. As a result the procedures vary in the different places and more than that the ways and methods carried out are highly questionable. For this reason among others many unaccompanied minors end up in 18 month detention.

We demand for the immediate creation of sufficient special reception centres for unaccompanied minors. In this frame the Reception Centre for Unaccompanied Minors in Agiassos, Lesvos, which was closed earlier this year despite the huge need should be re-opened with the necessary funding to allow for its functioning.

And we demand for the immediate release of all unaccompanied minors in first reception detention centres, pre-removal centres or any other form of detention. As provided for in the Guidelines on Policies and Procedures in dealing with Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum from UNHCR (1997) “(T)he child should be given the benefit of the doubt if the exact age is uncertain” and “the main guiding principle in any child care and protection action is the principle of the ‘best interest of the child’”.

Village of all together
Welcome to Europe ”

 

GREECE: LESBOS DETENTION CENTER

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

The Pagani detention center on the island of Lesbos, one of the most unworthy of Greece, was closed in 2009 after a long struggle inside and outside the center and numerous reports about the conditions there.

A reception and identification center opened near the village of Moria last autumn. Those arrested remain there a short time. A detention center – pre-removal center in Greek terminology – has just been built beside it, financed at 75% by the European Union. People can be locked up to eighteen months pending deportation – the time may be extended beyond 18 months following a recent decree.

https://goo.gl/maps/LZ6Uo

To follow the situation in Lesvos:

http://lesvos.w2eu.net/

 

 

GREECE: THE COST OF DETENTION

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

Greek detention centers are usually discussed in terms of human rights violations and reception conditions unworthy. A study of the detention center Amygdaleza focuses on economic efficiency. It puts next investment expenditure and operating with equipment that does not meet the minimum standards set by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the United Nations, or the first two years of operation of the center, only 27.9% are returned to their country, 28.5% do not have to be there because they have sought asylum and can not be returned, and 48.6% are not returned.

The report (in English) can be downloaded here.

 

 

BULGARIA: A JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Tags

Balkans, Bulgaria, detention, European Union, exilés

The function of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) is to monitor compliance with the law of the EU. His judgments are jurisprudence on the interpretation of the right of EU and therefore broader than the country directly affected by the case that was brought before it scope – here Bulgaria.

A Sudanese national was arrested in Bulgaria because he had no identity document and placed in detention for deportation. The tribunal decided at the request of authorities extend detention on the grounds that this person does not have an identity document, he might be hiding and prevented his deportation. The ECJ held that this decision was contrary to the “return” directive 2008: the fact not to have an identity document is not in itself a valid reason to extend the detention of a person.

The ECJ ruling is available here (in French):

http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=9ea7d2dc30d5687cbd8f276f439c96d5802246cd9ed3.e34KaxiLc3qMb40Rch0SaxuNbxr0?text=&docid=153314&pageIndex=0&doclang=FR&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=96640

The press release of the ECJ is available here (in English):

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-06/cp140080en.pdf

 

 

GREECE: CONTINUE THE VIGILANCE

Tags

asylum, Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece, human rights

In the follow-up to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights MSS v Belgium and Greece, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe noted that Greece still does not meet the European standards of asylum procedure and detention of asylum seekers and migrants, and concludes that must continue to be vigilant and monitor the situation. This decision of the ECHR had played an important role in stopping deportations of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin Regulation III (Dublin II at the time).

https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2199769&Site=CM&BackColorInternet=C3C3C3&BackColorIntranet=EDB021&BackColorLogged=F5D383

 

 

GREECE: CORINTH DETENTION CENTER

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

An article describing the conditions in the detention center of Corinth, where part of the detainees are on hunger strike against the extension of their detention for an indefinite period, which shows also the stakes of a detention system increasingly akin to a concentration camp system.

French on the website Okeanews:

http://www.okeanews.fr/20140615-corinthe-les-camps-concentration-grecs

 

 

GREECE: HUNGERSTRIKE IN CORINTH’S DETENTION CENTER

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

Since February 2014, a Greek government decree allows the continued detention of individuals beyond the maximum of 18 months set by the Greek and European legislation. Protests multiply in detention centers. Inmates from the center of Corinth began a hunger strike on June 9.

http://goo.gl/maps/20LaF

Information in English on the Infomobile website:

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/06/09/hunger-strike-against-18-detention-in-corinth-detention-centre/

and in French on Okeanews website :

http://www.okeanews.fr/20140612-greve-faim-camp-detention-corinthe

The open letter from the detainees :

“Letter from the detainees:

Many undocumented refugees were arrested by the Greek authorities since a year and a half (August 2012). The massive controls and arrests were realised in a very racist and cruel way. People were brought in detention centres all around Greece. Without going into a lot of details about the bad situation that we, all these refugees, went through, our only fault was that we didn’t have a piece of paper.

When the detention centres were opened the Greek government published a law where the maximum detention period of a refugee was 6 months. Then they increased the detention period to a 1 year, then to 1 1/2 years and this is the maximum period that the Greek law allows today.

But then suddenly some weeks ago they even increased the detention duration to open end periods!!!!! This step was a racist decision. It is injustice. The aim of this is only to stop us refugees from coming to Greece, us whom we left our countries due to our suffering. Now we are forced to suffer in Greece.

With the systematic and open end detention the Greek government is massacring us. They are wasting our lives and killing our dreams and hopes inside the prisons. All of that while none of us has committed any crime.

Most of us are having severe health problems: both physical and
psychological. Specially those who stayed already more that 18 months are in a devastating state and desperately need support.

Today on 9.6.2014 we people detained in the detention centre of Corinth have started a hunger strike. We feel an immense pressure due to our unknown destinies. We protest against the illegal extension of the detention duration to more than 18 months!”

 

GREECE: THERE IS MONEY HERE, THERE NO

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece, minors

The Pagani detention center on the Greek island of Lesbos http://goo.gl/maps/FeMKO , was closed in 2009 following a joint struggle of exile and their supporters, and following numerous reports denouncing the unworthy conditions there.

In September 2013 a new detention center opened on the island, thanks to European funding.

An open center was also to accommodate unaccompanied foreign minors. It closed in December 2013 due to lack of funding.

Unaccompanied minors are from either locked up with adults in the new detention center, or left on the street when the center is full.

To follow the situation of exiles in Lesbos:

http://lesvos.w2eu.net/

 

 

GREECE: NEW REACTIONS TO RETENTION BEYOND EIGHTEEN MONTHS

Tags

Balkans, detention, exilés, Greece

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles, the Greek Council for Refugees and the Greek Association Aitima challenge the Greek government about his recent decision to maintain foreigners in detention centers beyond eighteen months if they refuse a proposal for voluntary return or they may hide. This decision violates European legislation (Directive “return” 2008), which sets the maximum imprisonment for eighteen months duration (which in itself is already huge, and huge when you consider that these people who have committed no offense).

In English on the website Infomobile:

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/05/08/ecre-gcr-and-atima-urge-european-commission-to-call-for-a-immediate-withdrawal-of-the-decision-on-more-than-18-months-detention/

http://infomobile.w2eu.net/2014/05/09/minister-urged-to-stop-detention-of-migrants-beyond-18-months/

and French on Okeanews:

http://www.okeanews.fr/20140509-grece-viole-les-directives-lue-duree-detention-migrants

together with an article on the criminalization of migration in Greece:

http://www.okeanews.fr/20140506-criminalisation-migration-en-grece