Brussels, 09/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on 8 March, the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) described conditions in certain centres in Greece in which illegal immigrants coming from Turkey are detained as “inhumane”. In a press release, FRA Director Morten Kjaerum commented: “The situation at the EU's external land border between Greece and Turkey constitutes a fundamental rights emergency. People, including pregnant women and families with small children, are held in inhumane conditions. In a detention centre in Soufli, near the border between Greece and Turkey, the main entry point for irregular migrants into the EU, FRA teams reported on 29 January 2011 that “144 persons were being held in one room measuring about 110m2. There is no heating, and only one toilet and one cold shower are available for all detainees - with outside temperatures of around zero degrees Celsius.” The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) recommends 4m² of space per detainee in multi-occupancy accommodation.
The FRA explained that the situation in Evros has been described as a humanitarian emergency on many occasions but it has not been treated as such. The agency criticises the government for its inaction. The agency also says that it has not received any indication demonstrating that Greece is fully tackling the situation “despite the existence of European funds”. The systematic detention of all illegals, including children and babies, as well as the lack of co-operation between local and national authorities, where responsibilities are shared between several different departments, are among the most serious problems highlighted in the report.
Last December, the Commission released €9.8 million to help Greece tackle urgent problems in the domains of asylum and migration. Experts were also sent out and a mission set up by the Frontex agency, RABIT, was deployed on the River Evros to regulate flows of illegal immigrants coming in from Turkey. Finding itself under pressure, Greece did in fact adopt a national action plan at the end of 2010 for managing migration and reforming rights to asylum, aimed at reabsorbing the backlog, estimated to include more than 50,000 dossiers. These efforts did not, however, prevent the European Court of Human Rights ruling against Greece on 21 January last (and against Belgium) for serious shortcomings in the way it takes in migrants and treats requests for asylum. (S.P./transl.fl)