Icon: enlarge
Refugees in a camp on the Greek island of Chios: »Structural problems« (archive image)
Photo:
Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP
The Council of Europe has sharply criticized the treatment of refugees by the Greek authorities.
The Anti-Torture Committee (CPT) of the Strasbourg country organization announced that there were again "conclusive and credible" allegations of illegal returns to Turkey on the Greek-Turkish border.
In addition, there is "inhuman and degrading treatment" in Greek refugee camps.
The CPT report assumes that there have been illegal repatriations of refugees across the Evros River, on the land border between Greece and Turkey.
The behavior of the Greek coast guard "to prevent boats with migrants from reaching any Greek island" is also worrying.
In these cases, there is also the question of the involvement of the EU border protection agency Frontex.
The CPT complains, for example, that human rights monitors were not involved in the Frontex operation "Poseidon".
The EU authority opened an internal investigation into allegations of illegal migrants being rejected in Greece at the end of October.
In a reply, the Greek Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations of not treating migrants in accordance with the Geneva Refugee Convention as "unfounded and completely wrong".
"We have not received any complaints or evidence about it."
Barred cells, poor hygiene, inadequate food
The CPT report also criticizes "structural deficits" in Greece's policy of interning immigrants.
The situation is particularly bad in camps in the Evros border region and on the island of Samos.
Migrants are held there in "detention centers" made of barred cells "crammed with beds".
Lighting, ventilation and hygiene facilities are bad and dilapidated and the food is inadequate.
"The situation was exacerbated by the extreme overcrowding in several of the facilities," declared the Council of Europe experts.
There are also children, pregnant women and people with disabilities in these camps.
“In addition, the migrants did not receive any clear information about their situation.” The CPT emphasizes that it has regularly denounced these structural problems in Greece's migration policy for over 20 years.
However, the reaction to this has always been "either inaction or a minimalist approach by the Greek authorities".
In its reply, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to a new strategy, which was still being worked out, to accommodate migrants in "safe reception facilities on the mainland".
Icon: The mirror
asa / AFP
