Events is Nikaia, Athens, following the demonstration in memory ofMohamed Karman Atif and against state murders

All texts copied below from libcom.org, submitted by taxiki pali.

More updates and photos at http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

Athens anti-torture demo leads to clashes and occupation of city hall

The city hall of Nikea, an industrial and prominently communist suburb of Athens, is under occupation since Saturday 17/10 afternoon by anarchists demanding the release of people arrested during clashes with riot police outside the police department where a Pakistani immigrant, Mohamed Karman Atif, was tortured by beating and electric shocks ileading to his death last week

The demo, organised by several anarchist collectives, marched to the police station, where it was confronted by strong riot police forces. The protesters tried to break through the blockade by throwing stones to the police. In the clashes that ensued several people were detained, out of which some are being reported as arrested and charged.

The protesters then regathered and occupied the city hall in a surprise move. The mayor of the suburb, a Communist Party (KKE) cadre, has visited the occupied city hall and has declared that the police should by no means attempt to evacuate the 300 protesters who remain in it, nor arrest anyone leaving the premises.

What follows is the first communique of the occupied city hall:

Communique of the Occupied City Hall of Nikea
400 protesters gathered today October 17 in the streets of Nikea in a march of rage against the recent assassination of the 25 year old pakistani immigrant Mohamed Karman Atif by torture in the police station of Nikea, a march called by anarchist collectives and a local assembly of the area. We crossed the main streets of the area, from the house of the murdered man and moved towards the police station. Strong riot police forces (MAT) and motorised police forces (Z-team) that “accompanied the demo have proved the official stance of the now Socialist Ministry of Public Order (Ministry of Citizens Protection): whitewashing and protecting torturers murderers, the police occupation of the area. All that was happening will continue as normal: beatings, torture, humiliations in all the police stations of the country. During the protest march there was strong rain. But what rained near the police station of Nikea was not just water drops. The riot police brigade blocking the way to the police station received a rain of stones. The organised continuation of the march and the retreat from the hot-spot was hampered by a combined force of riot policemen at the back and on the sides of the march. Our defenses held, while locals from the sidewalks swore and verbally attacked the police army of occupation. Yet, in a cloud of tear gas and glob attacks some got cut off from the march and as a result they were detained. The march was completed in the location perivolaki, as planned and given the detentions a great number of the protesters moved to occupy the city hall demanding the immediate release of the hostage comrades. Some people who decided to leave were stopped by motorised police forces and were also detained. The exact number of detentions is yet not known, but is certainly double-digit. The process of arrest has already started for some. This is the apex of the new state dogma of “democracy and strength” as announced by the new minster of Public Order Michalis Chrisochoidis against the world of the insurgency and anyone potentially resisting. It is like two days ago during the demo of the Perama shipyard workers and unemployed at the Ministry of Labour. It is like the now police-occupied Exarcheia. It is like the recent persecutions of high-school occupations. It will be the same with the dockworkers of Peiraeus who are against the sell-out to COSCO, or the 1,400 workers of the Skaramangas shipyards threatened to be sacked.Police barbarity is only the repressive side of state-capitalist barbarity: oppression, exploitation, subjugation, death. The new political management’s main role is to manage the social dimension of the crisis of our times: the all-expanding disobedience to and clash with the demands of political and economic power. There is no place for illusions. No change will come from no new government. This has always been the case.State terrorism continues and with it continues the struggle for social and individual liberation, for a free world without power.

Immediate release of detained protesters!
Removal of all accusations against them!
Immediate retreat of all police forces from the neighborhoods of Nikea and from around the city hall!
The assembly of the occupied city hall of Nikea.

An update:

5 out of the 8 arrested protesters who were led to the courts today are being charged under the “anti-hood” law of the previous government which transforms any breach of the law into a criminal offence if the court accepts that the protesters were wearing hoods or covering their faces. This means that any breach of the law “under a hood” can be punished by maximum 10 years imprisonment. Given that many anarchists in greece wear hoods as a symbol of their ideology this is considered to be a re-activation of the 1930s “idionimo” which imprisoned and exiled people of communist convictions. The parody of justice is even more apparent by the fact that in the day of the march it was raining, so penalising wearing a hood is more or less a conviction to illness or a prohibition of protest in winter conditions.

It is the first time that the onerous anti-hood law is being applied.

As a result, the occupation of the Nikea city hall holds strong.
It must be noted that bourgeois media have imposed a total black-out on the events, pointing out that the Minister of Public Order, who was decorated by the CIA in 2003 for his anti-guerrilla operations, has activated his old methods of “media guidelines”, i.e. censorship on issues of human rights and civil order that might be harmful to the government.

Workers support city hall occupation in Nikea

The municipal workers association of Nikea stand in solidarity with anarchists occupying the city hall since Saturday.

As the occupation of the city hall of Nikea enters its third day, the support of locals so visual during the protest march regarding the police torture and death of Mohamed Karman Atif, which led to serious clashes with the police and 8 arrests last Saturday 17/10, has been expressed in a communique by the municipal worker’s association of Nikea.

Communique of Workers Association of the municipality of Nikea about murder–detentions-occupation

Nikea City Hall is occupied by anarchist groups from the afternoon of Saturday after a protest, for the death of the unfortunate Pakistani immigrant that took place in the Police Station of Nikea.

The Workers Association demands that the forces of repression leave from within the boundaries of the historic City of Nikea. The occupation of the City Hall by the protesters is a political act, and the attempt to criminalise it is unacceptable and undemocratic.

The workers of Kokkinia [red neighborhood] disapprove strongly the attack of the forces of repression against the demonstrators and the mindless use of chemical gasses in a densely populated area. The police rule imposed cannot intimidate protesters and workers.

We demand the immediate clarification of the case of the death of our fellow human being, the immigrant. We call the Minister of Protection of Citizens [Minister of Public Order] to deal himself with this dark case and not attempt to conceal or whitewash this tragic case.

The Association of Workers protests strongly against xenophobia and racism that extreme-right centers and para-centers are trying to impose on Greek society.

WE DEMAND

-THE REPRESSION FORCES NOT TO RAID THE NIKEA CITY HALL.

-THE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF THE POLICE FORCES FROM WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY OF NIKEA.

-THE CLARIFICATION OF THE CASE OF THE DEATH OF THE PAKISTANI IMMIGRANT.

-THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF GREEK POLICE AND THE FIRING OF EXTREME-RIGHT ELEMENTS IN ITS RANKS.

Greece: 5 immigrants murdered in one year, 50 in the last decade

• source: clandestina article at athens indymedia
• translated by mich at de.indymedia.org

Five immigrants were killed by cops and coast guards during last year in Greece. More than fifty humans have been killed the last ten years because of “luckily gun-fires”, “unclear situations”, “health problems”, “unreasonable self-suicides”, the “reasonable rage of citizens”. In this list there are no cases of deaths that were caused because of inexistent safety measures in workplaces (13 dead immigrants ONLY during the olympic games’ constructions. On this list the deaths because of land-mines at Evros river, or shipwrecks in the Aegean sea are not included, as well as the cases of  gun-fire exchange, which were filed as’ “legal self-defense” cases although its certain they were plain murders.  In this list there are only cases of straight murders.

The blood list:
9/10/2009:Death of Mohamed Kamran Atif, who was beated up after 15 cops entered a pakistan workers’ poor house on 26th of September at Nikaia district in Athens.

27/7/2009: Death of Kurd immigrant Arivan Osman Abdulah, who was hospitalized in comma, after being beated up by coast guards at Igoumenitsa’s harbour on 3rd April 2009.

23/3/2009: Death of 24 year old Mazir, who was found in comma, on 6th December, in the stream of Votanikos, 600 meters away from the cops’ Immigrants’ Authority Offices at Petrou Ralli St. and was hospitalized in comma.

3/1/2009: Husein Zahidul, immigrand from Bagladesh loses his life in the same stream of Petrou Ralli St.

24/10/2008: In Petrou Ralli stream was found dead Mohamed Ashraf from Pakistan, after a barbarian cop chase close to Immigrants’ Authority Offices

22/2/2008: Abdukarim Yahya Idris from Sudan gets beated up and murdered by three cops.

8/11/2007: Ilmi Lates, 45 years old and father of five children, was found by border guards close to Levaia village, the guards fire on his back from close distance and falls dead on the ground.

8/11/2007: Imprissoned Pakistan in farm jail of Kassandra was found hung in his cell. The courts have decided to send him back to his country.

11/10/2007: Afgan prisoner, 27 years old, was found hunged in his cell in Korydallos jailhouse.

18/8/2007: Tony Onuoha, 25 years old from Nigeria gets killed in Kalamaria district, Thessaloniki.

15/4/2007: Leonidas Kaltsas, 20 years old from Albania, hunged in cells of Youngsters Authority in Liosia district.

28/3/2007: Mathiea Domin, 16 years old from Poland, prejailed in Avlona, commits suicide in Korydallos’ psychological hospital.

21/11/2006: A dead immigrand from Makreb in the Omonoia cop office.

October 2006: Greek Authorities are blamed for throwing in the sea almost 40 immigrants without papers. Turkish coast guards in Karaburun openseas close to Smyrnee collected 6 corpses and 31 alive of them.

13/2/2006: Patras. A 15 year old Afgan immigrant heavily injured by coast guards and a 29 year old who also presented at the event, fall dead under unclear circumstances.

5/2/2006: Dead, under unclear circumstances, immigrant from Iran at Omonoia cop station.

1/1/2006: Rethymno, Crete. Edisson Yahai killed, 18 years old, killed in his home by a team of greek youngsters (they have earlier a conflict with a group of alban youngsters), with 17 stabs by knife on his head, cheast, back, arms and legs. The victim has not participated in the conflict.

11/4/2005: Lamia city. Dead immigrant from Nigeria in the city’s cop station. The murdered immigrant was buried without a doctor to check the corpe to investigate the reason of death.

4/9/2004: After the match of national teams of Greece and Albania starts a pogrom against the alban immigrants in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larisa, Kilkis, Ileia, Kavala, Zante, Ioannina, Patra, Corfu, Paros, Rethymno, Kalamata, Volos, Rodos… almost all around the greek areas that alban immigrants live there. On Zante island, Gramos Palushi, a 20 years old immigrant, fell dead because of the knife of Panagiotis Kladis. Also two more immigrants in the hospital because of this killer.

11/8/2004: Luan Berdelima, 36 years old, economical immigrand from Albania lost his life because he was unluck to face some macho locals

13/3/2004: Jandeus Kocheva, 36 years old, dead in the cop station of Vyronas district in Athens.

13/1/2004: Mohamed Hamut, 42 years old from Syria, dead because of “health problems” in cops station of Rethymno, Crete. The doctor who checked the corpe stated that he was beated up all around his body.

23/9/2003: Vulnet Bititsi, 18 years old from Albania shoted and killed by border guards at Krystalopigi.

2/11/2002: Alban immigrant, 32 years old, shoted and killed by border guards at Kastoria.

1/12/2001: Border guards shot against two young albans in a village close to the borders at Thesproteia area, one falls dead.

21/11/2001: Cop Giannis Rizopoulos murders at America Square, Athens an immigrant from Albania, Gentjan Celniku 20 years old.

29/4/2001: Burdaki Taveus, 38 years old from Poland, commited suicide in the cop station of Kos island. He was found hung in his cell, after he was arrested and waiting for months to be sent back to Poland.

1/8/2001: O. Pazil from Turkey gets killed by coast guards around the sea space of Kos island.

4/6/2001: Afrim Salla, 15 years old from Albania, gets shot and loses the ability to move his legs, after -as Greek Police stated- the gun of the border guard fired by luck.

13/2/2001: Konstantin Katur, 47 years old from Romania, dies in a cop station. Despite his heavy injure no cop took him to a hospital.

23/11/2000: Chavahir Katsani, 22 years old from Albania and Ryon, 15 years old from Albania are shoted and killed by a greek at Galatista village at Halkidiki.

1/11/2000: Bledar Qoshku, 20 years old from Albania, was killed -as Greek Police stated- after he and a cop started shoting against each other. The gun that Bledar Qoshku should carry was never found.

10/8/2000: A 20 years old immigrand from Albania gets killed by border guards at Ieropigi, Kastoria.

14/6/2000: Border guards shoot and kill an immigrand at Evros river.

25/7/2000: A 22 years old immigrand gets shot and killed by greek army general at the greek-bulgarian borders.

15/6/2000: Yoval Badjar, 25 years old gets killed by G. Pistolas, a border guard, at Megalo Dereio village at Evros river.

27/4/2000: An under-18 immigrant from Albania gets murdered by cop, with a bullet on his neck, during a revolt at Avlona jailhouse.

25/3/2000: Nikos Leonidis, 17 years old from Georgeen, gets killed by mr. Atmatzidis, an undercover cop, in Thessaliniki.

21 & 23 of October, 1999: P.Kazakos, 23 years old, guard at ERT (governmental TV-channel) starts shooting generaly against immigrants. Victims of him: Kofi Tony from Ghana dead. Saad Abdelhadi, 30 years old from Egypt has serious moving problems. Hindir Serif, a 25 years old kurd, loses the ability to move his legs. Kurd Rasul Posef, Ahmed Nasar from Pakistan, Timoty Abdul from Nigeria and Mohamed Datnon from Bagladesh were not so heavily injured.

7/4/1999: An alban woman gets killed by Greek Police at the greek-macedonian borders.

18/3/1999: Lanti Peppa, 20 years old from Albania gets killed in Kastoria by Greek Police.

13/3/1999: Arben Vezi from Albania gets killed at Kozani by cop named Athanasios Kanavas.

November 1998: A. Hoxoli, 20 years old from Albania gets killed by A. Gougousis, because the victim tried to steal his horse. After this, the killer tried with some relevants of him to hide the dead body.

23/10/1998: Marco Boulatovic, a 17 year old student gets shoted at his heart in Thessaloniki by cop named Vantoulis because he was a “suspect for stealing”.

October 1998: Shbobek Miesic, from Poland, dies in the cop station of Meligalas because cops refused to transfer him to a hospital despite the doctor’s orders.

15/6/1998: At Megara city gets killed a youngster from Albania.

5/6/1998: Bokari Baho, 28 years old, falls dead because of “fear shots” of a border team.

April 1998: Ose Ogbuefi, from Nigeria gets murdered “for cheap reason”. The killer E.Kyriakopoulos and his friends refuse to state that felt sorry for the assasination.

Also:
4/8/2009: A 29 years old woman from Albania comited suicide at the cop station of Hersonisos, Crete because she did not want to be sent back to Albania.

12/7/2008: A 48 year old man from Gorgeen commited suicide in his cell in Kassandreia jailhouse, Thessaloniki because he didn’t want to be sent back to his country.

9/10/2009:Death of Mohamed Kamran Atif, who was beated up after 15 cops entered a pakistan workers’ poor house on 26th of September at Nikaia district in Athens.

27/7/2009: Death of Kurd immigrant Arivan Osman Abdulah, who was hospitalized in comma, after being beated up by coast guards at Igoumenitsa’s harbour on 3rd April 2009.

23/3/2009: Death of 24 year old Mazir, who was found in comma, on 6th December, in the stream of Votanikos, 600 meters away from the cops’ Immigrants’ Authority Offices at Petrou Ralli St. and was hospitalized in comma.

3/1/2009: Husein Zahidul, immigrand from Bagladesh loses his life in the same stream of Petrou Ralli St.

24/10/2008: In Petrou Ralli stream was found dead Mohamed Ashraf from Pakistan, after a barbarian cop chase close to Immigrants’ Authority Offices

22/2/2008: Abdukarim Yahya Idris from Sudan gets beated up and murdered by three cops.

8/11/2007: Ilmi Lates, 45 years old and father of five children, was found by border guards close to Levaia village, the guards fire on his back from close distance and falls dead on the ground.

8/11/2007: Imprissoned Pakistan in farm jail of Kassandra was found hung in his cell. The courts have decided to send him back to his country.

11/10/2007: Afgan prisoner, 27 years old, was found hunged in his cell in Korydallos jailhouse.

18/8/2007: Tony Onuoha, 25 years old from Nigeria gets killed in Kalamaria district, Thessaloniki.

15/4/2007: Leonidas Kaltsas, 20 years old from Albania, hunged in cells of Youngsters Authority in Liosia district.

28/3/2007: Mathiea Domin, 16 years old from Poland, prejailed in Avlona, commits suicide in Korydallos’ psychological hospital.

21/11/2006: A dead immigrand from Makreb in the Omonoia cop office.

October 2006: Greek Authorities are blamed for throwing in the sea almost 40 immigrants without papers. Turkish coast guards in Karaburun openseas close to Smyrnee collected 6 corpses and 31 alive of them.

13/2/2006: Patras. A 15 year old Afgan immigrant heavily injured by coast guards and a 29 year old who also presented at the event, fall dead under unclear circumstances.

5/2/2006: Dead, under unclear circumstances, immigrant from Iran at Omonoia cop station.

1/1/2006: Rethymno, Crete. Edisson Yahai killed, 18 years old, killed in his home by a team of greek youngsters (they have earlier a conflict with a group of alban youngsters), with 17 stabs by knife on his head, cheast, back, arms and legs. The victim has not participated in the conflict.

11/4/2005: Lamia city. Dead immigrant from Nigeria in the city’s cop station. The murdered immigrant was buried without a doctor to check the corpe to investigate the reason of death.

4/9/2004: After the match of national teams of Greece and Albania starts a pogrom against the alban immigrants in Athens, Thessaloniki, Larisa, Kilkis, Ileia, Kavala, Zante, Ioannina, Patra, Corfu, Paros, Rethymno, Kalamata, Volos, Rodos… almost all around the greek areas that alban immigrants live there. On Zante island, Gramos Palushi, a 20 years old immigrant, fell dead because of the knife of Panagiotis Kladis. Also two more immigrants in the hospital because of this killer.

11/8/2004: Luan Berdelima, 36 years old, economical immigrand from Albania lost his life because he was unluck to face some macho locals

13/3/2004: Jandeus Kocheva, 36 years old, dead in the cop station of Vyronas district in Athens.

13/1/2004: Mohamed Hamut, 42 years old from Syria, dead because of “health problems” in cops station of Rethymno, Crete. The doctor who checked the corpe stated that he was beated up all around his body.

23/9/2003: Vulnet Bititsi, 18 years old from Albania shoted and killed by border guards at Krystalopigi.

2/11/2002: Alban immigrant, 32 years old, shoted and killed by border guards at Kastoria.

1/12/2001: Border guards shot against two young albans in a village close to the borders at Thesproteia area, one falls dead.

21/11/2001: Cop Giannis Rizopoulos murders at America Square, Athens an immigrant from Albania, Gentjan Celniku 20 years old.

29/4/2001: Burdaki Taveus, 38 years old from Poland, commited suicide in the cop station of Kos island. He was found hung in his cell, after he was arrested and waiting for months to be sent back to Poland.

1/8/2001: O. Pazil from Turkey gets killed by coast guards around the sea space of Kos island.

4/6/2001: Afrim Salla, 15 years old from Albania, gets shot and loses the ability to move his legs, after -as Greek Police stated- the gun of the border guard fired by luck.

13/2/2001: Konstantin Katur, 47 years old from Romania, dies in a cop station. Despite his heavy injure no cop took him to a hospital.

23/11/2000: Chavahir Katsani, 22 years old from Albania and Ryon, 15 years old from Albania are shoted and killed by a greek at Galatista village at Halkidiki.

1/11/2000: Bledar Qoshku, 20 years old from Albania, was killed -as Greek Police stated- after he and a cop started shoting against each other. The gun that Bledar Qoshku should carry was never found.

10/8/2000: A 20 years old immigrand from Albania gets killed by border guards at Ieropigi, Kastoria.

14/6/2000: Border guards shoot and kill an immigrand at Evros river.

25/7/2000: A 22 years old immigrand gets shot and killed by greek army general at the greek-bulgarian borders.

15/6/2000: Yoval Badjar, 25 years old gets killed by G. Pistolas, a border guard, at Megalo Dereio village at Evros river.

27/4/2000: An under-18 immigrant from Albania gets murdered by cop, with a bullet on his neck, during a revolt at Avlona jailhouse.

25/3/2000: Nikos Leonidis, 17 years old from Georgeen, gets killed by mr. Atmatzidis, an undercover cop, in Thessaliniki.

21 & 23 of October, 1999: P.Kazakos, 23 years old, guard at ERT (governmental TV-channel) starts shooting generaly against immigrants. Victims of him: Kofi Tony from Ghana dead. Saad Abdelhadi, 30 years old from Egypt has serious moving problems. Hindir Serif, a 25 years old kurd, loses the ability to move his legs. Kurd Rasul Posef, Ahmed Nasar from Pakistan, Timoty Abdul from Nigeria and Mohamed Datnon from Bagladesh were not so heavily injured.

7/4/1999: An alban woman gets killed by Greek Police at the greek-macedonian borders.

18/3/1999: Lanti Peppa, 20 years old from Albania gets killed in Kastoria by Greek Police.

13/3/1999: Arben Vezi from Albania gets killed at Kozani by cop named Athanasios Kanavas.

November 1998: A. Hoxoli, 20 years old from Albania gets killed by A. Gougousis, because the victim tried to steal his horse. After this, the killer tried with some relevants of him to hide the dead body.

23/10/1998: Marco Boulatovic, a 17 year old student gets shoted at his heart in Thessaloniki by cop named Vantoulis because he was a “suspect for stealing”.

October 1998: Shbobek Miesic, from Poland, dies in the cop station of Meligalas because cops refused to transfer him to a hospital despite the doctor’s orders.

15/6/1998: At Megara city gets killed a youngster from Albania.

5/6/1998: Bokari Baho, 28 years old, falls dead because of “fear shots” of a border team.

April 1998: Ose Ogbuefi, from Nigeria gets murdered “for cheap reason”. The killer E.Kyriakopoulos and his friends refuse to state that felt sorry for the assasination.

Also:
4/8/2009: A 29 years old woman from Albania comited suicide at the cop station of Hersonisos, Crete because she did not want to be sent back to Albania.

12/7/2008: A 48 year old man from Gorgeen commited suicide in his cell in Kassandreia jailhouse, Thessaloniki because he didn’t want to be sent back to his country.

Immigrant victim of police torture passes away in Athens

source: tvxs

An immigrant fell victim of police brutality

A brutal incident of police violence occurred on the evening of September 26 in Nikaia, Athens.   The victim a 25 year old immigrant, who died yesterday of his wounds. Petros Constantinou of the movement “Together against racism and the fascist threat”, talked to tvxs about the events that caused Pakistanis’ Mohammed Kamran Atif death.

On 26 September,  at01.30 at night, 15 police officers raided the house of the young immigrant at 82 Ilioupoleos str., Nikaia, shouting and beating both himself and his family. The neighboors who witnessed the incident say that the deceased was just semi-conscious,  and that while he was being carried out of his house his head kept banging on the stairs while he and his family were getting off the house crawling.   Against him there was a complaint for child beating.

He was then taken to the Nicaia police station, which turned into a torture chamber.   Kamran remained in detention for two days.  The charge against him remained ungrounded, and the complainant withdrew his charge .  Kamran was then released and he himself described to his family the horrific moments he had gone through.   “He was tied hand and foot and banged with clubs and then subjected to electroshock  with wires on his hands and knees” is the testimony of  Kamran’s amily.

Both the family and the neighbors knew about the abuse Kamran had suffered . Fear kept him away from the hospital since Kamran had no documents.

The police tried to cover up the incident.   Kamran’s brother was pressured and misled to testify that his brother brought no bruises when he left the police station.

Tomorrow on (Sunday 11 Oct) at 16:00 in the house of Mohammed Atif Kamran  an interview and a protest wil take place organised by the Pakistani community in Greece,  “United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat” and ” ANTARSYA.

Mass hunger strike at Athens Airport since Sunday

source in Greek: http://www.tvxs.gr/v21898

About 150 immigrants detained at the airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” began a mass hunger strike on Sunday.  The immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India had been living and working  for years in Greece.  When they went for a visit at their country, they received the necessary documents from the pertinent municipalities, which would allow them to return.  Upon return, though, the authorities did not allow them to leave the area of the airport, claiming that their documents had been forged.

At the beginning of the hungerstrike, some already had been held for one month, awaiting the decision to deport them.   In addition to their claims for release, the migrants ask for improved detention conditions;  one of the prisoners reported to tvxs, «we are offered food once a day, we have no access to shower facility, but most importantly we can not drink the water because it comes from the single  toilet used by all prisoners’

Murder at workplaces – Greek and migrant workers have their share of death – July & August 2009

We translate here roughly the list of data compiled by comrades at http://kakamantata.squat.gr/.  As the comrades write:

“[…] the reason for compiling the list is not to provoke “pity” for the deaths.  At workplaces there is an undeclared war raging , with victims on the part of workers.  With some rough calculations, every three days an employee dies. The list is by no means comprehensive. We know that information is made publicly available only for a few of the “accidents” really happening.  But we ourselves have no doubt about what is really the case: the State and the bosses kill!”

July 2: Accident in the construction site of the Larissa-Trikala National Road; a 26 year old from Larissa, was electrocuted while instaling lighting poles – forunately, he survived.

July 3: A twenty-something guy from Pakistan, working in the chain of pizzerias “Bellisimo” had a serious accident while on delivery route, and he was hospitalized for 5 days in Intensive Care Unit of the hospital «Saint Savas»; he is still hospitalized at the State Hospital in Nikaia. The incident became known last Saturday after complaints of workers in the Tourism – Food Union of Piraeus. If there hadn’t been for the complaint, the accident would not have ever been recorded. It was confirmed that the 20 year old worked there for about a year uninsured, over 10 hours daily, like the rest of his colleagues! Remember that last year on June 24, the 19 year old Rechman Mahmoud from Pakistan, an uninsured delivery employee of the Belissimo pizzeria in Kolonos, Athens, was hit by a car at the time of work and after ten days in a comatose condiution he died.

July 7: The 45 year old Schygulla Mustaffa died a tragic death while working in the tunnel of the Train Organisation of Greece, near Aghios Stephanos, Domokos, Central Greece. The site was operated by the construction company «AKTOR».

July 14, a 61 year old man was fatally wounded at the dock of ship the ship repair company «NEORION SA» – a group of companies based in Piraeus, 67, Akti Miaouli – and Syros.

July 22: A severe accident, with one dead and twenty people injured, occurred shortly after 16:00 in KOUKOUTARIS A. «ALFA» SA, frozen dough products industry, which employs 165 workers and has branches in Athens, Thessaloniki and Ioannina. The accident was caused by a leakage of gas in the building after some complication in a tank used to cool the refrigerators. A 35-year old woman succumbed to injuries in the hospital of Kozani. Apart from the unfortunate woman, five other employees with severe burns have been tranferred to the same hospital; more workers at the same shift suffer lung problems.

-Another man in the long list of murders: During trench excavation works, a 50 year old worker of the Municipal Enterprise for Water Supply and Sewerage of Katerini, Central Macedonia Region, was crushed by soil. He was at a depth of approximately 1.70 meters when the pit wall collapsed.

An “accident” occurred in the quarries of Lamia, Central Greece, operated by the company «UNITED QUARRIES SA» (3, Truman str., Lamia) and it resulted in the amputation of a the 55 year old Nicholas Hrysos, who lost fingers from both hands. The «accident» took place during the placement of of some explosive device.

July 23: A fatal «accident» occured at the roadworks in the Louros area of Preveza. The victim was Vassilis Panagiotou, a 23 year old from Filiates. The unlucky worker was tragically killed by electrocution, when, while lifting iron pillars from a crane vehicle, he touched a power line of PPC.

July 25: Ntanout Noumitratsi (Danut Dumitrachi, a 39 year old working at Mantoudi, Evoia, died a tragic death – he was crushed by volumes of scrap metal. The unlucky laborer was working for the company «Terna» (Mesogion 85, Athens. According to information, the safety standerds were far from met.

July 27: a bus driver, during a journey to Moudania, Halkidiki, lost control of the vehicle which ended in a field with olive trees. The passengers were unharmed but the driver was transported to the Health Center of Moudania where it was found he had suffered from a heart attack, which caused his death.

July 28: The 50 year old builder George Michalas, who works for the subcontracting company «Athanasopoulos – Bakalaros» was buried alive. The particular project at the shore of a river is undertaken by the Mechaniki company. What is indicative of the working conditions leading to such accidents is the fact that the 50 year old worker had working since the morning at the site and he was injured at 7 pm! At some point the ground collapsed and the soil fell on the man, since the protective iron used in these cases was absent as well. The 50 year old worker was rescued by his colleagues.

July 28: A 54 year old migrant worker in the works of the Electric Power Compani Substation in Leondari, Thessaly, was rescued the last instance, after he had been trapped between a moving crane and a wall. His name is Romelion Voulmpes, of Romanian citizenship and he is working for the company «POSEIDON SA», which has undertaken the construction of the substation.

July 31: Another crime, the victim of which was the the 46 year old immigrant from Bangladesh Gulaf Miah happened in Aspropyrgos, at the company «General Recycling – Real Estate Hotel SA – «Γενική Ανακυκλώσεως Κτηματική Ξενοδοχειακή ΑΕ»”. The immigrant was «buried» and compressed under tonnes of recyclable material (paper) for about two days! The last time someone saw Miah alive was a foreman of the company at 10.30 Friday morning. Nobody looked for the immigrant until the family made a statement of disappearance the next day, on Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Police Department Aspropyrgos! The Association of Private Employees and Anonymous Companies Offices launched on 4 / 8 a 24-hour work stoppage.

August 2: A 36 year old worker in the factory of LARCO, Larymna, was burnt to death and three of his colleagues were slightly injured in a blast furnace accident at the plant. The three wounded were taken to hospital in Lamia. The fatal accident happened when under so far unspecified conditions, the ore, which at that time had a temperature of more than 3,000 C, leaked.

August 3: A propane leak occurred yesterday afternoon during a transfusion from a tanker facilities of a private company, which was at in the Second MOT of Thessaloniki. The driver of the tank, in an effort to stop the leak, was injured by liquefied propane.

August 3: An electrocution accident which resulted in the serious injury of the worker Giorgos Bouritas occurred during works to expand the medium voltage substation of High Voltage in Larimna, Boeotia.

August 4, 2009: A 67 year old night watchman at New Anchialos, Volos, working in the Agricultural Cooperative «Demeter», died while trying to close the iron gate of the entrance of the factory, which crushed and fell on him. The wounded man was taken to the General Hospital of Volos. He died there a few hours later.

August 5: The 30-year old Vassilis Katsikis found a horrible death in the worksite of Grammatiko, Attica, when the lorry he was a co-driver on crushed and hot tar toppled on him. This death sheds light on the horrible circumstances under which drivers work, since the trucks carrying the tar are old and do not meet any safty standards. The company he worked for is «Ashpaltiki Attica SA».

August 6: A 39 year old worker from Albania, Louska Zekir, was killed while working on projects in the Eleusis – Tsakona road. When a crane lifted scrap of approximately one ton the strap was cut. The worker was working for the company «SELKOS». The site belongs to the subcontractor company Straktor of the Moreas consortium, that manufactures the highway from Tripoli to Kalamata.

August 18: A 50 year old worker was Hospital hospitalized after suffering injuries when his truck collided with a second truck in the mines of the Electrical Company, at Kommanos, Kozani, Western Macedonia.

August 20: A 28 year old worker at the Greek Petroleum refineries Aspropyrgos Panayiotis League lost his life instantly by falling from a height of about 5 meters.

August 21: A 30-year old worker from Albania was killed while working at the gas tank industry of «TANK GAS», in Karditsa, Thessaly. The worker was killed by an explosion, while performing coloring works inside a tank.

August 26: Shortly before 12 at noon, a furnace explosion killed inside a factory the 27 year old Costas Delis. Due to the explosion there were four more worker wounded; one of them, C. Papaconstantinou, suffered severe burns.

August 25: The 38 year old contract employee of the Electrical Company, Panagiotis Hatzidimitriou, was sent to do repairs on columns of electricity cables after 15 days training (the training used to last 6 months some years ago). The “accident” occurred in Thessaloniki, in Lagadas, when the worker fell from a height when he took off his belt to bypass an artificial barrier, while descending from the column he had climbed to repair the damage. He died on the spot.

August 26: The 55 year old Haikalis Kyriazidis died an instant death by electrocution while working in Evoia. He touched a wire, while manipulating the crane that loads tubes. The worker was working in the technical company «ERGOROI», which has undertaken the construction of the “biological purification” of urban liquid waste of Istiea.

August 27: A 28 year old Greek was crushed by a block of residues of animal food in the warehouse he worked for. He was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital of Rethymnon. His colleagues and firefighters freed the worker, who was left unconscious by the blast. He is hospitalized and lives on life preserving devices.

August 28: A 27 year old worker in a painting workshop, in Pandroso, Rodopi, Thrace, was very “lucky”, to fall from a scaffold of five meters, and survive with only minor injuries.

August 29: One more labour “accident” occurred on a site of Egnatia highway in the prefecture of Ioannina. A 47 year old worker from Anilio, Metsovo, Ipeirus, who worked for the Egnatia Odos, had his left hand stuck in a cutting machine. His colleagues in the company of “AKTOR” and firefighters freed the worker, who was unconscious. He was immediately transferred to the Health Center of Metsovo and from there, given the seriousness of the situation, he was relocated to the Ioannina University Hospital.

A sum-up of August so far

THE SITUATION IN GENERAL

According to an “Eleftherotypia” newspaper article, 3.000 refugees are detained in police detentions spaces (in the prison cells of police departments) and 3.000 more in dtetention centers. The detention center conditions, which are even more unbearable due to seasonal heat, could only be described as hellish during August due to the the inhumane overcrowding, which is now the situation at Greece’s mainland detention spaces as well. This has been described as unprecedented, with the facilities with no exception now being 50% over their capacity. Detainees are constantly being transferred from one detention space to the next, but constant “sweep operations” have gradually filled all premises. According to leaks, there are also some “informal” detentions spaces running. The only strategy of the pertinent ministry of interior is actually summary expulsions of refugees to Turkey.

The minister and deputy minister of interior are said to be in political rivalry, and their urge to meet with the “message of the euroelections”, the cleansing of Athens and urban centers of immigrants, has clashed with coordination problems and the lack of any realistic plan for “reception centers”, at the expense of refugees’ treatment of course, as described above. The minister is said to follow a plan of constucting four camps until the end of the year, the deputy minister two camps as early as mid September.

The situation is believed to worsen by the end of August when the new law which denies refugees to lodge an appeal for rejected asylum applications will be put in effect, opening thus the way for the deportation thus thousands of refugees whose applications are now pending.

“Now you will die!”: Coast Guard attempt to drown asylum-seekers in Lesbos

Source: http://libcom.org/news/now-you-will-die-coast-guard-attempt-drown-asylum-seekers-lesbos-03082009

Coast guard of Lesbos tied 12 Somali immigrants in an inflatable boat and then pierced its sides with knives in order to drown the helpless asylum seekers who were saved by passing cruise boat

The Coast Guard of Lesbos Island has been accused of attempting to mass murder 12 Somali asylum seekers, amongst which one woman. According to the case, on the 5th of July an Austrian European border Frontex Helicopter spotted an inflatable boat containing the 12 immigrants off Korakas Cape in Lesbos.

Upon the arrival of the Greek Coast Guard, the helicopter left, leaving the Greek cops to arrest the 12. The Coast Guard took the 12 out of their boat, tied their hands to their necks, beat them, and put them back in the inflatable boat before piercing its sides with knives. Then they let the boat go to the open sea telling the asylum seekers in English: “Now you will die!”.

Immediately the boat started getting water in, and sinking. The asylum seekers were saved from certain drowning when a British cruise boat passed by, saw them and saved them. The asylum seekers were then taken to Pagani detention camp on Lesbos from where they contacted the UN through a sympathetic lawyer. The Coast Guard adding insult to harm has called the UN law suit against them an act of provocation.

4 Iraqis on hunger strike in Arta

source: http://www.ele.gr/(A(YogGIgNBygEkAAAAYjRjNWU1YTAtZWRmMC00ZTU5LWIzNDYtMDE0NWY4ZjU0NDZjN4pB9lQR8gfgptGCq2k4zvtIU-Q1))/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=1945

In Arta, a town in north-western Greece of 25.000, four Iraqis went on hunger strike on the 9th of July, while another four Albanians are expecting for their asylum requests to be examined. The immigrants are not being accused of any crime, yet they have been locked up in a dirty and crowded cell at the police station for over two weeks, depending only on the good will of the police officers to leave the cell. The Iraqis, considerably weakened by the hunger strike and the conditions of detention, have even abstained from requesting political asylum and are hoping their hunger strike will help accelerate the process leading to their release and administrative deportation.

THE IMMEDIATE LEGACY OF THE PATRAS EVICTION: 23 immigrants on hunger strike in Agrinion

source: athens indymedia

On the 11 July 2009, the Patras TV channel “superb” broadcasted a live interview of the president of the police officers’ Union of Agrinion, a town of 100.000 inhabitants in Western Greece. The officer stated that 23 of 26 immigrants who had been arrested after the complete demolition of the 15-year-old refugee settlement in Patras by the authorities, and had then been transferred to the police headquarters in Agrinion, have now started a hunger strike. (The remaining three immigrants had been released.)

All 23 of the detainees (Somalis and Afghanis) were reported to be suffering contageous diseases, (mainly tuberculosis and scabs) yet were still being kept in jail instead of being taken to a hospital for proper care. The guards refused to go near them for fear of becoming infected and had therefore arranged for the immigrants to have direct access to the toilets. The police officers’ union president added that the immigrants had been offered to be returned to their countries on the expense of the Greek State but they had all declined.

A month later, on the 12th of August, four of the immigrants were transferred to the hospital, where they joined another four immigrants-hunger strikers who had been transferred there the previous day. All eight of them are in a critical condition. The original 23 immigrants were still refusing food until the 20th of August, when six of them were transferred to an unknown destination. 17 immigrants are now being detained in Agrinio, accepting water and food and awaiting the State’s decision about their fate.

Hunger Strike in Pagani, Lesvos

source and much material and updates at http://lesvos09.antira.info/

Published on 20. August 2009,

On 18th of August 2009, 160 unaccompanied minors detained in Pagani detention centre went on hunger strike to demand their immediate freedom. All of them are detained in just one room, where they share one toilet, many need to sleep on the floor due to lack of beds. Some of the minors are only eight or nine years old. 50 of them have been detained for over 2 months, the others have been in Pagani for several weeks already. The detention of minors is illegal under greek law.

Today, 150 people from a local solidarity movement and antiracist groups here to prepare the noborder camp took to the detention centre to show solidarity and support for their demand for immediate freedom. On arrival, the detained persons started shouting “freedom, freedom”, which was answered by the demonstaration. Messages in English and Farsi were read out as the migrants inside passed letters with their demands and concerning their situation to the outside.

All participants of the demonstration were severly shocked in the light of the unbearable conditions in Pagani. We learnt of a 13-year-old boy inside Pagani who was extremely sick and in urgent need of medical attention for two days already. However, none of the authorities responsible acted. It was only when we called an ambulance it was possible to transport the sick boy to the hospital. We also learnt of a heavily pregnant woman in a very bad health state. She however refused to be brought to the hospital since she didn’t want to leave her other two little children alone in Pagani.

We left with the promise to come back soon and to spread the information about these obvious human rights abuses worldwide and went to the city to confront the attorney responsible with his neglect in taking care of the minors he is in charge of.

One letter we received reads:

We are having hardship times in this worst jail, more than three months in a bad situation, without any supporters except you. The police refuses or rejects to explain our bad situation in this bad jail. We are more than 1.000 prisoners, ladies, guys as well as lots of children. So as a conclusion, please do whatever you can. We are waiting a lot from you, we need our freedom as well as our rights.

Best regards, prisoners

Samos Hunger Strike: almost 600 Samos immigrants go on hunger strike over transfers, expulsions

source: http://ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100002_06/08/2009_109598

The recent government policy of moving illegal immigrants to reception centers in northern Greece before expelling them from the country ran into more trouble yesterday, as 580 migrants being held on Samos went on hunger strike to protest the measure.

The migrants’ complaints were prompted by an attempt by authorities to remove 26 illegal immigrants from the island on Tuesday so that they could be transferred to another center in northern Greece.

Authorities have recently attempted to crack down on illegal immigration by stepping up the number of expulsions, while also taking into custody migrants squatting or renting accommodation in run-down buildings in Athens.

The practice of transferring migrants to northern Greece has, in recent weeks, met with the opposition of human rights campaigners who have attempted to prevent the operations from taking place.

Yesterday’s protest came as sources revealed to Kathimerini that one in three applications made this year to remain here by the families of migrants living legally in Greece will be rejected.

Sources said that some 9,000 applications had been made but that in some 3,000 cases, the requests would be turned down because the migrant who is the main breadwinner in the family was not earning enough money.

According to Greek law, for a migrant’s family to be allowed to remain in Greece, the head of the family must declare an income that is 20 percent more than that of an unskilled laborer, which amounts to 10,200 euros per year before taxes.

Campaigners for migrants’ rights have expressed concern that since, given the current economic conditions, many immigrants’ incomes do not reach this level, their wives and children will be deemed to be living here illegally.

The Interior Ministry said that migrants can appeal any decision to deport their families and instead of a residence permit will be issued with a document confirming their legal status (“veveosi”) that will then be renewed every six months until their case is heard.

Deaths in Kos and Igoumenitsa

from fortresseurope.blogspot

07/08/09

Greece

Body found at Igoumenitsa port. He sneaked onto a truck believing it was about to board a ferry for Italy and he died after he jumped off when it appears that the truck was headed for mainland Greece

13/08/09

Greece

Two bodies were recovered from the sea off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Kos while another three people were reported to be missing

Children in prison in Thessaloniki

August 12, 2009

source: tvxs.gr

Two little girls from Afghanistan were among the immigrants detained in the Border Guard Station of Kordelio outside Thessaloniki. 8 year old Narges and 2 year old Farzona were arrested with their parents trying to board on forged documents on a plane to Stuttgart. Although the public prosecutor decided that the family should be trialed in October 2010, the police arrested them and detained the father and the rest of the family in different police prison spaces. In the mean time the police decision for their deportation was issued. Fortunately the next day a court decision ordered their release and their transfer to an NGO managed reception center.

Solidarity blockades against the transfer of refugees in Chios island

info: enet.gr

photo from relevant Athens Indymedia article

Much tension yesterday afternoon at the port of Chios island, where demonstrators, members of the Chios Refugees Solidarity Committee and PAME [note: Communist Party of Greece trade union] tried to prevent the boarding of two buses carrying 60 migrants from the refugee camp of  Mersinidi into the F/B «Theofilos» in order to tranfer them to Thessaloniki.  Port police and Police broke the blockade of the citizens in the port of Chios and manage to board the hand-cuffed Afghan, Pakistani and Somali immigrants.   After the boarding of refugees, one Communist Party member dived in the sea, between the coast and the ship, which caused the ship to leave the island a further one hour later than expected.

It should be noted that the transfers of immigrants  towards Northern Greece come after the recent law which increases detention time to six months.  This has rendered the situation in the centers of Chios and Mytilini extremely tense.  The capacity of the Mersenidi center is 120 people, still, already 220 people are detained therein, while in the Mitilini Pagani camp the respective numbers are  250 and 400!

People protest because they believe that behind these «innocent» transfers is the attempt to expell immigrants without much «trouble»to Turkey via Evros.

Greek and Italian prime ministers cooperate closely

source

Italy and Greece urge EU to play greater immigration role

Rome – The European Union should seek direct commitments from individual African nations for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, Italian and Greek leaders said Wednesday. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis made the remarks at a joint news conference following their talks in Rome.

The 27-member EU as a whole should take responsibility for dealing with the issue of illegal immigration, rather than “individual member states having to reach agreements with those on the African side of the Mediterranean coast,” Berlusconi said.

On Tuesday the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) had criticised both countries for their treatment of asylum-seekers and refugees.

Earlier this month Italy sent back to Libya migrants from Eritrea even though they were in need of asylum, the Geneva-based agency said.

The UNHCR also voiced concern over Greek authorities’ decision to close a makeshift camp hosting hundreds of would-be immigrants in the city of Patros, without however, providing alternative accommodation.

On Wednesday Berlusconi and Karamanlis did not directly address the criticism.

Instead, Karamanlis said Italy and Greece would continue to “cooperate closely,” on illegal immigration and also seek ways to boost the EU’s external border security agency, Frontex, so that it may step up patrols in the Mediterranean.

In May, following the coming into effect of an agreement with Libya, Italy introduced a strict “push-back” policy, to prevent migrants from entering its territory illegally.

Through the agreement, Libya has agreed to prevent the use of its shores for such sea journeys and to accept would-be immigrants intercepted by Italian authorities in international waters.

Rights activists, United Nations officials and the Vatican have all condemned what they say are deportations by Italy done without determining whether the migrants qualify for political asylum.

source

Greek-Italian push for EU migrant pacts: PMs promote repatriation agreements

CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (r) ushers his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis into the Palazzo Chigi in Rome for talks that focused on illegal immigration. The leaders also discussed cooperation in the energy sector, in the proposed ITGI and South Stream gas pipelines, prompting Karamanlis to highlight their ‘strong common interests.’

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi yesterday agreed to promote the creation of a common European policy for curbing a growing tide of illegal immigrants, proposing repatriation pacts between Brussels and the migrants’ states of origin and transit countries.

Speaking after talks in Rome, Karamanlis said that Greek and Italian authorities saw eye-to-eye on many issues relating to illegal immigration. “We agreed to push forward with common initiatives in all directions including the promotion of repatriation agreements between the EU and the countries of origin and transit of the migrants,” Karamanlis said, adding that the role of the EU’s border monitoring agency Frontex should also be boosted.

Berlusconi struck a similar note, calling on all member states to contribute to efforts to make the 27-member EU the “common point of reference” so that repatriation pacts relate to the EU as a whole “rather than individual member states having to reach agreements with those on the African side of the Mediterranean coast.”

Earlier in the week the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) had criticized both Greece and Italy for their treatment of asylum seekers.

The UNHCR expressed concern over the decision by Greek authorities to raze a makeshift settlement in the western port of Patra that, until recently, had hosted hundreds of would-be migrants seeking an opportunity to sneak onto a ferry to Italy.

The United Nations refugee agency has also appealed to Greece to avoid so-called “push-backs” of migrants originating from war zones.

In a related development yesterday, Alternate Interior Minister Christos Markoyiannakis announced that an aircraft had left Athens with 90 would-be migrants from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Hundreds more migrants are believed to have been deported over the past few months.

Strikes, hunger strikes and clashes in Greece

source: libcom.org

Submitted by taxikipali on Jul 14 2009

Strikes, hunger strikes and environmental action leading to clashes with riot police open week after weekend of state terror in Greece.

After the weekend of terror in Greece, the mid-summer week has started with a wave of strikes and environmental actions, underlining that the spine of the movement is too strong to break.

On Monday 13/7 trains across Greece came to a halt for 48h as a result of a rolling 3-hour stoopage industrial action by railway workers.At the same time workers at Wind, the mobile telecommunications giant, in Greece declared a 24h strike. Workers of Wind and solidarity workers of other industrial sectors gathered outside the company’s HQ and blockaded its entrance on Tuesday 14/7 morning till the afternoon.

The same day the committee against harm, and the committee against exploitation in the village of Megali Panagia in Chalkidiki joined by scores of locals form the wider area built block houses along the forest roads leading to Scouries, the area that a big gold-mining company wants to transform into a wasteland with the support of the greek government which has recently passed a law that declares any opposition to the exploitation of minerals as treason. The area has a long history of struggle against gold mines which peaked in the late 1990s with the titanic struggle of Olympiada villagers against TVX-Gold.

Meanwhile OTE, the National Telecomunication Company has sued the historical Athens Polytechnic for hosting athens indymedia in its server, alleging that this violates the conditions of its contract with OTE. The Polytechnic has condemned the legal action as censorship in line with LAOS (fascist party) demands of gagging radical dissent to the regime. The legal action was also condemned by the Coalition of Radical Left. On Tuesday 14/7 protesters attacked the central OTE tower in Athens with black paint symbolising the information black out planned by its managers. Many workers in the tower expressed their support to the action.

The same day locals of Grammaticos who are resisting the construction of an open refuse damp in their area, and clashed with riot police last week erecting barricades and torching company bulldozers organised a protest march towards the riot police blockade of the construction site. The locals clashed with the police throwing stones and other projectiles, including a few molotov cocktails. The battle lasted for about an hour and the locals suffered the extended use of tear gas and ‘blast flash’ grenades.

In the prison front, Thodoris Iliopoulos started a hunger strike on the 10th of July 2009. Iliopoulos was arrested on the 18th of December 2008 in Akadimias street during a riot police sweeping operation in the context of the December Uprising. He is held since the 22nd of December in the Court Prisons of Koridallos accused for 3 crimes with no witnesses other than policement. Iliopoulos denies all charges against him, and has launched a long campaign to prove his innocence. On the 8th of July his petition for release until his trial was waived by judges, being the only arrested from the December Uprising to be still held hostage. On beginning his hunger strike Iliopoulos declared: “In go on hunger strike. It is the only means remaining to me as a hostage on order to cry out the truth and denounce the terrible injustice. To denounce the hatred and the empathy of ‘justice’ mechanisms. To denounce the arbitrariness and the violence of a ‘justice’ which is blind indeed, the its even more ‘blind’ functionaries”. In solidarity the convict Nicos Tsouvalakis has also started a hunger strike demanding the release of Iliopoulos and in protest to the dehumanising prison conditions. As of Monday 13 of July the inmates of the First Wing of Koridallos Prison, the central prison of the country in Athens, declared that they abstain from the prison kitchen ration.

Meanwhile 19 Pakistani asylum seekers held in the police station of Glyfada, south Athens, are in their fourth day of hunger strike in protest to the agreement of the ministry of Public Order and the Pakistani Embassy to repatriate them. The asylum seekers claim that their life is in danger if they return to Pakistan.

Fascism on the rise: the last few days in Greece…

Nazi Greek state: Kristallnacht in Patras, bullets in Athens, torture in Simi.

source: libcom.org article

Submitted by taxikipali on Jul 13 2009

The rapid nazification of the Greek state took off last weekend with the violent evacuation and torching of the large Afghan immigrant settlement in Patras, shooting of immigrants in Omoinoia square and institutionalised torture of Pakistanis in the island of Simi.

The nazification of the Greek state which is endorsing parastate groups to ‘clean and patrol’ areas comes in a climate of acute social antagonistic upheaval. Besides the continuing resistance locals of Grammaticos villages who rose against the construction of an open refuse dump in their area, erecting barricades and clashing with the police, last week saw a series of dynamic antifascist antiracist protest marches against State-nazi attacks against immigrants. At the same time, on the early hours of Saturday the house of the ex-Minister of Public Order (active during the December Uprising and Alexis Grigoropoulos assassination by the police) and ex-chief of the Greek Army, General Hinophotis, was bombed with a strong explosive device after prior warning call to the press. A few hours later earlier yet another armed attack against riot police forces occurred near the HQ of PASOK with no victims On the early morning Sunday, following the surge of State-fascist attacks the HQ camp of the riot police (MAT) in Athens came under attack by protesters which piled the riot policemen with stones leading to a half hour battle.

The Greek state’s response to the December Uprising and the politicisation of immigrants across the country has solidified in a programme of nazification that includes open endorsement of neo-nazi vigilante combat groups, a series of the most repressive laws seen since the junta, and open attack against both the social antagonistic movement and immigrants across the country.

On early Saturday 11/7 morning armed nazi scum riding a car drove by the heavily policed Omonoia square in down town Athens and opened fire on bystander immigrants near the offices of the Golden Dawn neo-nazi party. Three wounded immigrants were taken to hospital and are out of danger. Later the same night nazi scum set fire on Palio Efetio, the Old Appeal Court opposite their offices which is being squatted by immigrants and is being vilified by the bourgeois press.

The same day, the Pakistani Community denounced yet another incident of institutionalised stripping and torture committed by the fascist greek police in the island of Simi. For 8 hours Wassim Sanjat, Mazhjar Ali and Mohamet Ali were tortured: cops tortured Wassim by “placing a gun on his head, beating him with a glob and iron stick on the soles of his feet (a torture loved by the junta called phallanga) and on his bottom and stripping him again and again. The other two persons were severely beaten. The Pakistani Community demands the immediate punishment of the torturers-policemen.

In the early hours of Sunday 12/7 strong riot police forces surrounded the big Afghan immigrant settlement in Patras, cordoning off the area. The riot policemen then moved to evacuate the thousands of asylum seekers using maximum force, while bulldozers moved in to demolish their houses.During the evacuation operations, the settlement was ‘mysteriously’ set on fire, and torched to the ground. The settlement is believed to have been housing more than 2,000 Afghans and has been repeatedly targeted by fascists receiving the solidarity of a wide spectrum of progressive social forces in the city of Patras. The Red Cross has condemned the evacuation and torching of the settlement as ‘terrorist’. The Communist Party (KKE) has condemned the attack as barbaric and the Coalition of Radical Left as ‘beastial’ and ‘criminal’. The evacuated immigrants are held in concentration centers of zero hygienic facilities, host to continuing greek police torture and brutality.

[clandestinenglish note: minors from the camp are said to be transferred to Konitsa, Epirus, at a center for unaccompanied minors.   At this center young Afghans had been hunger striking for better condiutions – see  Afghan adolescents hunger-strike for better conditions at Konitsa, Epirus care center.]

The nazification of the Greek state which is endorsing parastate groups to ‘clean and patrol’ areas comes in a climate of acute social antagonistic upheaval. Besides the continuing resistance locals of Grammaticos villages who rose against the construction of an open refuse dump in their area, erecting barricades and clashing with the police, last week saw a series of dynamic antifascist antiracist protest marches against State-nazi attacks against immigrants. At the same time, on the early hours of Saturday the house of the ex-Minister of Public Order (active during the December Uprising and Alexis Grigoropoulos assassination by the police) and ex-chief of the Greek Army, General Hinophotis, was bombed with a strong explosive device after prior warning call to the press. A few hours later earlier yet another armed attack against riot police forces occurred near the HQ of PASOK with no victims On the early morning Sunday, following the surge of State-fascist attacks the HQ camp of the riot police (MAT) in Athens came under attack by protesters which piled the riot policemen with stones leading to a half hour battle.

19 Pakistani detainees in Glyfada police station go on hunger strike

translation from athens indymedia article with tvxs.gr info

19 Pakistani refugees detained in Glyfada, Athens police station have gone on hunger strike since 4 days.

They go against the common decision of  the Pakistan embassy in Athens and the Greek Ministry of Public Order to expell them.  They say their lives are at risk in Pakistan.

One of the hunger strikers, Mohammed Abbas, says that the Police beat him vehemently for refusing to sign his deportation documents.

Sweep operation in Tripolis, Peloponnese

Meanwhile, “sweep operations” are now a diffuse practice of the police even in smaller cities.  According to athens indymedia article there are 30 immigrants detained in the Tripolis, Peloponnese police stations.

Big Brother state

New Police State Regulations are introduced.   A new law has been proposed in the Parliament  introducing  DNA “banks”, the collection, that is, of DNA indices from even minor traffic offences, and the use of public space surveillance cameras data not only for the regulation of traffic, as was ostenslibly the reason for planting them in the first place, but for the prevention of crime.

info from this athens indymedia article.