• Human Rights in Greece

    Acknowledging alarming levels of xenophobic violence, the government created specialized police units to address the issue. Access to asylum remains difficult and Syrians face detention, significant obstacles in getting protection, and even forced return. Police sweeps since August 2012 have led to over 80,000 presumed undocumented migrants being detained for questioning based on little more than appearance. Since 2012, migrants and asylum seekers may be detained on broad public health grounds, and the maximum period of detention for asylum seekers was extended for up to 18 months. Blasphemy investigations into a play depicting Jesus Christ as gay and a Facebook page satirizing a dead monk raised freedom of speech concerns.

  • A 14-year-old unaccompanied migrant boy from Afghanistan stands outside the abandoned house in which he lives with 25 other Afghan migrants in Patras, Greece. Like many other migrants, he is trying to stow away on ships to Italy to claim asylum. © 2012 Human Rights Watch
    © 2012 Human Rights Watch
    Italy: Summary Returns to Greece Violate Rights
    Italy is summarily returning unaccompanied migrant children and adult asylum seekers to Greece, where they face a dysfunctional asylum system and abusive detention conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Stowaways on ferries from Greece, including children as young as 13, are sent back by Italian authorities within hours without adequate consideration of their particular needs as children or their desire to apply for asylum.
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Greece

  • Letter to the Greek Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Regarding Proposed Modification to the Greek Criminal Code
    Feb 28, 2013
  • Divided We Fall: Intolerance in Europe Puts Rights at Risk
    Feb 14, 2013
    An Afghan migrant is stabbed in the heart on the streets of Athens. Black-shirted paramilitaries linked to Hungary’s third-largest political party march through a Roma neighborhood shouting, “You will die here.” A neo-Nazi gang commits a string of murders of Turkish immigrants in Germany. An ideologue driven by hatred of “multiculturalism” kills 67 mostly young people on a Norwegian Island.
  • EU: Human Rights Sidelined Amid Crisis
    Jan 31, 2013
    National and European Union (EU) leaders failed to address serious human rights concerns in the region amid economic and political crisis in 2012, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in the EU, highlighting events in 10 member states and EU-level developments in migration and asylum, discrimination and intolerance, and counterterrorism policy.
  • Italy: Summary Returns to Greece Violate Rights
    Jan 22, 2013
    Italy is summarily returning unaccompanied migrant children and adult asylum seekers to Greece, where they face a dysfunctional asylum system and abusive detention conditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report published today. Stowaways on ferries from Greece, including children as young as 13, are sent back by Italian authorities within hours without adequate consideration of their particular needs as children or their desire to apply for asylum.
  • Another Greek Crisis That Needs the EU’s Attention
    Jan 19, 2013
    Last year was very tough for Greece, and there are few prospects that 2013 will be easier. Millions of people have been directly affected by the sweeping austerity measures arising from the economic crisis. The country is convulsed by political tensions, with the rise of the far-right Golden Dawn party the most worrying example. And there are severe social problems, linked in part to the huge influx in recent years of irregular migrants from outside the European Union.
  • Xenophobic Violence in Greece
    Dec 30, 2012
    Greece has become anything but hospitable to migrants and asylum seekers over the years, as anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobic violence spread.
  • EU: Provide Protection for Syrian Refugees
    Dec 23, 2012
    The European Union and its member states should do more to help the thousands of Syrian asylum seekers trying to reach Europe as the Syrian crisis worsens and winter sets in.
  • Greece: Drop Blasphemy Investigation Over Play
    Nov 19, 2012
    The Athens public prosecutor’s office should drop its criminal blasphemy investigation relating to a play depicting Jesus Christ and his apostles as gay.
  • Greece: Strengthen Proposal for Hate Crime Units
    Nov 13, 2012
    New police units to address racist violence need a strong mandate, proper staff, and clear guidelines, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the Greek minister for public order and citizen protection, Nikos Dendias.
  • Greece: Letter to Greek Minister of Public Order on Specialized Hate Crime Units
    Nov 13, 2012
    We write to provide our support for your initiative to create special police units to address racist violence. We take this opportunity to share our observations on the draft decree and to recommend the crucial steps we believe are necessary to ensure these units are effective in curbing the alarming phenomenon of xenophobic violence in Greece.
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