Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Street murder highlights Greek hate culture

The mayors of Athens warned against the increase in racist attacks against minorities and immigrants on Thursday (16 August) as Greek authorities continue to round up and arrest undocumented migrants throughout the country.

“When fellow human beings are being stabbed on an almost daily basis, society has to be alert and the state has to lead the perpetrators to justice,” said Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis, reported Greek daily Ekathimerini.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Several hundred cases of violence against migrants in Greece have been documented by NGOs in the past month (Photo: Zalmai)

On Sunday, a 19-year-old Iraqi man died of stab wounds after being attacked by five men in central Athens.

Witnesses told police the gang had attempted to attack a Moroccan and a Romanian but both managed to flee before the five men unleashed their brutality upon the Iraqi.

“Such attacks are unacceptable and the authorities must do all within their power to stem their rise,” deputy Europe and Central Asia programme director at Amnesty International, Jezerca Tigani, said in a statement on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) in Athens told this website on Friday that the attacks are now almost a daily occurrence.

Those that carry out of the attacks, she said, “work almost undisturbed” as police have failed to convict anyone linked to the violence. Small gangs on motorcycles typically carry out the attacks.

“They [migrants] are really scared to go [and] report and press charges because they may be arrested if they do,” said the spokesperson.

She said police dissuade victims from pressing charges by telling them they have to pay €100. She also noted that victims and witnesses are offered no protection.

In another incident, two Pakistani men were attacked in their home on Sunday evening after being beaten by unidentified men. Both ended up in the hospital.

Fifteen men in motorcycles belonging to an extreme right-wing group, reportedly tossed flares into a prayer room for Muslim worshippers on Thursday in Pireus.

The mayor of Topeiro, near Xanthi, said thugs are now targeting the Muslim community.

“We warn this small group of dangerous, idiotic thugs that we will stand in the way of their plans. We will find them and stop them,” he said.

Greek authorities launched a round up of undocumented migrants earlier this month. The on-going campaign named after the Greek god of hospitality - "Xenius Zeus" – has so far detained around 8,000 people.

Those without proper identification are arrested and deported. Some 1,660 have been arrested and placed in administrative detention, said the Greek police on Wednesday.

A report by the NGO Human Rights Watch out in July documented dozens of attacks against migrants in and around Athens. The NGO recorded 300 assaults in Athens in the first half of 2011. The Athens police, for its part, recorded only 9 incidents of hate crime for the whole of 2011.

Greece to deport undocumented migrants

Authorities in Greece rounded up 6,030 undocumented migrants in Athens over the weekend and arrested 1,525 for not meeting the legal conditions for residence.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us