The Silent Humanitarian Crisis in Greece: Devising Strategies to Improve the Situation of Migrants in Greece workshop report Racist Violence and Accountability of the Police Force Greek and international NGOs have reported that racist attacks against migrants have recently become more numerous and more violent, resulting in more severe injuries. The near complete absence of accountability of the police for overt psychological and physical assaults against migrants on the streets and in police stations in Athens and elsewhere, plainly visible to any passer-by, are threatening the very basic elements of a democratic society. To address this situation, the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and 23 NGOs created the Racist Violence Recording Network 31 which aims to record racially motivated incidents and develop a series of proposals to prevent such crimes, as there is no official national mechanism to deal with such incidents. Activities have included seminars to teach people how to file an attack through the Network in order to collect reliable data but these have not yet proven to be successful as still the number of filed complaints for racist violence does not match the reality. panelinput Racist Violence and Accountability of the Police Force Dora Oikonomou, Amnesty International – Greek Section A report published by Amnesty International in July 2012 entitled “Police violence in Greece: Not just “isolated incidents”33 focuses on human rights violations by Greek law enforcement officials. It details the use of excessive force and ill-treatment in detention facilities, as well as providing some key insight into pervasive and accepted racist mentality condoning violence against migrants. Racially motivated attacks Since 2010, third country nationals, including asylum seekers, both regular and irregular migrants, have increasingly become the target of racist violence reportedly perpetrated by members and supporters of right wing groups, representatives of law enforcement bodies as well as ordinary citizens. However in the last year, these types of unlawful acts of violence have acquired a disturbing dimension which reached a peak in August 2012 when an Iraqi national was stabbed to death34. Members of migrant and refugee communities, as well as unofficial mosques 35, shops and community centres have become targeted and many incidents have resulted in stabbing and severe beatings. Recent reports on police violence and violence against migrants in Greece: • Amnesty International, Police Violence in Greece: Not Just ‘Isolated Incidents’ (2012) • Human Rights Watch, Hate on the Streets (2012) In the context of the economic crisis and severe austerity measures, and the recent election of the extreme right party Golden Dawn into the Parliament in 2012, anti-immigrant feelings have been increasingly stirred up in all sectors of Greek society. Operations such as Xenios Zeus,36 the mass police crackdown against migrants in August 2012, raised concerns that individuals were experiencing discrimination based on their perceived ethnicity and that such discriminatory operations risk fuelling further attacks and xenophobic feelings. According to data 32 collected by the Racist Violence Recording Network in 2012, 15 out of 80 recorded racist attacks included incidents where the police used force during identity checks and ill-treatment at detention. Other failures of law enforcement officials included official documents being destroyed, lack of a systematic method in investigating and addressing claims, and delays in the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators. Additionally, very few incidents are reported, as migrants fear reprisals, arrest and deportation but also mistrust the justice system due to law enforcement officials protecting their colleagues by refusing to speak out or testify against any abuses. Law enforcement officials as perpetrators Asylum seekers, migrants and refugees have reported law enforcement officials as perpetrators of these racist attacks. From October to December 2011, of the 63 recorded incidents of racially motivated violence, 18 were linked to police violence, as well as 15 of the 87 incidents recorded from January to September 2012 by the Racist Violence Recording Network37. In addition to racist crimes perpetrated by Greek citizens, reports from civil society indicate that assaults against migrants are increasingly perpetrated by law enforcement officials. Incidents of torture and ill-treatment in police custody and prison leave migrants with no access to protection, justice and redress. The alarming first findings and conclusions of this Network included incidents of excessive use of force, systematic impunity as authorities are failing to investigate such incidents, and the failure to take measures to protect third country nationals from racially motivated offences. … 33 34 35 36 31 Further information available at: http://www.unhcr.gr/1againstracism/ category/racist-violence-recording-network/ 16 32 Racist Violence Recording Network, Findings 1.1.2012 - 30.9.2012 37 Amnesty International, Police violence in Greece, Not Just ‘Isolated Incidents (2012) Ta Nea, Ρουπακιώτης: Ε��ικίνδυνη η αύξηση των ρατσιστικών επιθέσεων, 13 August 2012 Greece Reporter, Without a Mosque, Greece’s Muslims Go Underground, 6 September 2012 PICUM Bulletin, Mass arrests, 7,000 identifications and 2,000 arrests, 20 August 2012 The Guardian, Greek crackdown on illegal immigrants leads to mass arrests, 7 August 2012 Further information available at: http://www.unhcr.gr/1againstracism/category/racist-violence-recording-network/ 17