OPEN LETTER TO MR. ALEXIS
TSIPRAS
PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE
Via Email: mail@primeminister.gr
Geneva, 20 September 2018
Re: Systematic police
violence and illegal deportation of asylum seekers in Evros
Dear Prime Minister,
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the
leading global network of civil society organisations against torture, summary
executions, enforced disappearances and all other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment in the world, is writing to you to express its
grave concern and to call upon your intervention in response to the following
situation in Evros region.
The OMCT has been informed by the Greek Helsinki
Monitor (GHM), a member of the OMCT SOS - Torture Network, about the alarming
amount of reported cases and allegations of ill-treatment and illegal
deportation of asylum seekers in the Evros region of Greece.
According to the information received, there is
on-going and systematic use of violence against asylum seekers by law
enforcement officers in the Evros border area with Turkey. The Greek
authorities are detaining and arresting asylum seekers before sending them back
to Turkey. People in need of international protection are being illegally
deported without allowing them to file for asylum all the while destroying
their personal items and documents.
According to the cases reported, migrants in Evros are
regularly subjected to brutal beatings and deplorable conditions of detention
that amount to ill-treatment and torture. Their subsequent expulsion and
transport are characterised by further ill-treatment such as being crammed into
small vans and overcrowded boats, risking their lives once more. Victims of
these expulsions include vulnerable migrants such as pregnant women and minors.
Photographic evidence and video recordings have been
provided by civil society organisations depicting injuries sustained from
severe beatings. The images of 13 persons arrested by the Greek police near
Mavrokklisi, Evros on 11 August 2018 show severe signs of violence. Moreover,
their phones, passport and money were taken from them before being illegally
deported to Turkey. Pictures of a woman from Syria who entered Greece from the
Evros area with her three children before 11 August 2018 allege that she was
severely beaten before being summarily deported to Turkey.
International rights bodies have criticised Greece in
the past for failing to address allegations of police abuse and have called for
complaints mechanisms to investigate abuse allegations. The European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CPT) visited Greece from 10 to 19 April 2018 and documented 15 cases of
ill-treatment. The delegation of the CPT received several consistent and
credible allegations of forcible removals of foreign nationals by boat from
Greece to Turkey at the Evros River border by Greek police, border guards or
paramilitary commandos.
The OMCT reiterates that collective expulsion is a
practice prohibited by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Accordingly, the OMCT respectfully urges the
authorities of Greece to:
- Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and
psychological integrity of all migrants and asylum seekers in
Greece;
- Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and
transparent investigation into the events described above in the Evros
region in order to identify all those responsible, and sanction them as
provided by the law;
- Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt
reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted
to the victims for the violation of their human rights;
- Conduct human rights trainings for the law
enforcement officials, including police officers and border guards;
- Ensure the respect of human rights and
fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national
laws and international human rights standards, in particular ensure the
respect of the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with
international and regional human rights instruments Greece has ratified,
including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In the hope that the concerns expressed in this
letter will receive the attention they deserve, we remain at your disposal for
any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Gerald Staberock
Secretary General
OMCT
Copies to:
- Minister of Justice Mr. Michalis Kalogirou, Email: grammateia@justice.gov.gr
- Minister for Citizens Protection of Greece, Mr. Olga Gerovasili, Email: minister@mopocp.gov.gr
- General Secretary for Transparency and Human Rights, Ms. Maria Yannakaki, Email: ggdad@justice.gov.gr
20/9/2018
