By Paris Ayiomamitis
A mass hunger strike by immigrants held at the Amygdaleza detention centre –10 kilometers from Athens – is set to continue indefinitely, with the participation of 90% of the detainees, said Keerfa (link in Greek), the Movement against Racism and Fascism Threat.
The detained immigrants, who are protesting against conditions at the camp and the death on November 6 of a Pakistani national, Muhammad Ashfaq, due to the ‘criminal indifference’ of authorities, have reportedly made a huge banner out of bed sheets which reads “hunger strike until freedom”.
According to Keerfa, the ‘[hunger] strikers are asking for their freedom and are protesting against the death of Muhammad Ashfaq, whose repeated pleas to be transferred to a hospital were ignored.”
“Die, what do we care”
The in.gr news site (link in Greek) reported that the head of the Pakistani Community and president of the Migrant Worker Union Javed Aslam, claimed that authorities had ignored Ashfaq’s repeated complaints of breathing problems for 15 days. Instead of helping him, Aslam said that guards told Ashfaq to “die, what do we care”.
Aslam also accused the Pakistani embassy of helping Greek authorities in trying to cover up the incident.
According to Efimerida ton Syntakton (link in Greek) daily newspaper, the death at Amygdaleza was the fourth at a Greek immigrant detention centre, without a clear official indication as to the cause of death.
The paper quoted police sources as saying that the man suffered from a heart condition and died at Erythros Stavros hospital in Athens, where he had been transferred. But no other details were given, regarding medication he received while at Amygdaleza or whether his condition allowed for his detention at the camp.
Keerfa said Ashfaq had suffered injuries in a riot police attack during a detainee riot in 2013 when he was being held at a detention centre in Corinth. He was transferred to Amygdaleza – which the media have dubbed a concentration camp – but only received hospital treatment to his injuries when it was already too late.
Deplorable conditions
According to humanitarian groups and The Guardian newspaper hygiene conditions at detention camps in Greece are horrid while medical care is insufficient and infrastructure is poor. The centre at Amygdaleza was built to accommodate 1,000 immigrants but currently holds double that figure.
As an entry point for thousands of immigrants annually, Greece has been slammed for the poor detention conditions of immigrants.
For its part, debt-ridden Greece is demanding more financial support to deal with the situation and a revision to the ‘Dublin Regulation’ which stipulates that the first EU country immigrants enter is responsible for their asylum application.
According to a 2013 Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) report: “Greece has focused on reinforcing its external borders and started a policy which relies too heavily on detention. Despite the Greek authorities’ determination to improve the asylum system and detention conditions, which in many instances remain deplorable, much still needs to be done.”
In April this year, the Global Detention Project said the “maximum permissible length of detention had repeatedly been extended” and that, in practise it depends on the “discretion of higher ranking police officials whether … to extend the detention or not in each case”
“In 2009, the maximum limit was increased from three to six months. In 2011, after the transposition of the Returns Directive, the maximum was increased to 18 months. Then, in early 2014, the Greek Legal Council issued an advisory opinion allowing police to extend the length of detention beyond 18 months and potentially indefinitely in cases where detainees refuse to cooperate in their removal proceedings,” the project said.