S 1. INTRODUCTION “I came here for peace! ” Sudanese refugee in Patras May 13, 2012 upporters of the extreme right party the ‘climate of war’ our colleagues had to Golden Dawn1, which entered Greece‘s face!”3. parliament for the first time in the 6 On May 24, UNHCR Greece stated in a press reMay elections, have clashed with police lease “UNHCR calls for an end to the cycle of in three days of anti-immigrant protests in the violence in Patras”: western port of Patras. The clashes followed an invitation from “Following recent tensions in Patras caused by the indignant local residents and neighbours to murder of a 30-year-old man last Saturday, 19 May, attend a peaceful demonstration following UNHCR condemns all acts of violence and calls for the killing of a 30-year-old Greek national, al- the respect of the rule of law. It also appeals to all legedly by irregular Afghan migrants in Iteon concerned in Patras to maintain calm. The anger neighbourhood (near the Peiraiki Patraiki fac- generated by the murder, for which a criminal intory) on May 19, 2012. According to the Greek vestigation is on-going, should not lead to a cycle authorities, a group of residents accompanied of violence, with civilians taking the law into their by members of Golden Dawn then converged own hands. It can also not serve as an excuse to taron the derelict factory inhabited by migrants get and victimize migrants and refugees in Patras or and refugees seeking to stow away on ferries in other regions of Greece. The fact that thousands bound for Italy. of migrants and asylum seekers are trapped in During the march, Golden Dawn militants Greece creates significant problems that need to be shouted anti-immigrant slogans, and riot po- addressed through serious dialogue, through specilice who were protecting the migrants respon- fic and realistic policy proposals and a comprehensided with teargas after demonstrators attacked ve set of measures. UNHCR calls on all political and them with stones and tried to storm the fac- social stakeholders in Greece to work towards this tory with iron bars and truncheons in order to direction and to unequivocally condemn all acts of attack the migrants. violence.” 4 Though a 17-year-old Afghan has been arrested for the murder, fascist groups in Patras The rapid escalation of racist violence in recontinued to riot for three days and handed cent days was a logical extension of prevailing out flyers stating: “Out of Greece illegal immi- exclusion, marginalisation, stigmatisation, ilgrant intruders – the Greek fatherland is for legalisation and dehumanization of refugees the Greeks”. In this explosive and dangerous and migrants in Patras and throughout Greece. atmosphere, the Greek police informed the Though the police played the role of “protector” migrants and refugees in the factory that they during the riots it has been regularly acted as could not protect them and asked them to lea- a “perpetrator” in the persecution of the city’s ve the area. The migrants were then taken into migrant population. custody and transferred out of Patras over the As we document in the following report, next few days. state officials systematically ill-treat refugees According to a police press release from the and migrants in Patras. Throughout the past Achaia Prefecture on the riots, around 350 15 years hundreds of migrants and refugees members of Golden Dawn party participated in (undocumented or not) have been living in the violent protest in front of the factory and Patras in improvised shelters seeking to stow “repeatedly” attacked the police with “stones, away on ferries bound for Italy. This report confirecrackers, improvised incendiary devices, tains numerous allegations of the ill-treatment logs, rods, crowbars and other objects”. In total of migrants and refugees by police and other 22 persons were taken into custody while five officials, which in some cases are tantamount were arrested 2. The Union of Police Employees to torture. All interviewees allege that they subsequently condemned the disturbances in had been ill-treated either inside the port after a statement proclaiming: “We protest against their detection by police and coast guard of1 Golden Dawn on May 6, 2012 picked up over 440,000 votes in general elections and entered parliament for the first time in Greece‘s political history. The group has pledged to “scrub the country clean” of illegal immigrants. 2 Anouncement by the police of Patras concerning the escalation of violence: http://www.dete.gr/news.php?article_ id=93684 3 Announcement by the Police Employees’ Union, May 25, 2012: http://www.thebest.gr/news/index/viewStory/128255 4 http://www.unhcr.gr/nea/artikel/abbab3147b2ca66f2a692169dcc9a64e/ekklisi-tis-ypatis-1.html 5