Brussels, 01/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Several NGOs once again on Monday 31 March were scathing of the way the Greek authorities treat migrants, accusing them of prolonged and systematic detention of refugees and asylum seekers arriving on Greek soil. In a press release, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) criticises this treatment which “is having devastating consequences on (the) health and human dignity” of migrants. Since 2008, “we have carried out more than 9,900 medical consultations inside detention centres and police stations where migrants and asylum seekers are held”, says MSF.
Since the Greek police launched Operation Xenios Zeus in 2012, the number of irregular migrants and asylum seekers held in administrative detention has skyrocketed. At the same time, the capacity of detention facilities has grown by 4,500 places with the addition of five pre-removal centres, “while detention is being applied systematically for the maximum period of 18 months”, MSF alleges. Meanwhile, sanitary conditions and the provision of basic services remain “largely unacceptable”. Even particularly vulnerable groups - such as minors, victims of torture and people with chronic diseases or disabilities - are subjected to prolonged detention, MSF says. Migrants and asylum seekers are also being held in police stations, where conditions are even more deplorable, and where detainees are not allowed outdoors for months at a time - in some cases for up to 17 months.
In separate action, launched on 30 March, several NGOs and MEPs have called on Greece to bring an end to the return of migrants, a practice which, in January, saw Athens again upbraided by the Commission. (AN)