PUBLIC STATEMEN
23.10.2009
Police racist violence against Migrants, Minorities & Human Rights defenders and researchers In Greece
The RED Network expresses its strong protest and its deep concern regarding the ongoing and unobstructed police state violence against migrants and social minorities, as well as against human rights’ defenders, anti-discrimination and migration researchers in Greece.
The RED Network expresses its strong support and solidarity to the sociologist Dimitris Parsanoglou, researcher of i-RED (Institute for Rights, Equality & Diversity), member of the Greek RAXEN (Racism and Xenophobia Information Network of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency) National Focal Point i-RED, which is the RED Network coordinator.
Our colleague, Mr Parsanoglou suffered an unacceptable arrest and humiliation by the police officers and the judge because he intervened in defense of a migrant beaten by Police officers in the very centre of Athens by requesting from the officers to stop their unneeded post-arrest aggression.
The sarcastic comments of the judge denying his release about “having the time to study migrants in the cell” represent one of the most appalling aspects of contemporary racism and authoritarianism, which often takes the face of state officials, those who have a high duty to safeguard the democratic rule of law and the respect of human rights.
The RED Network and RAXEN National Focal Points from 26 EU countries, demand the full disciplinary investigation and exemplary punishment of the police officers who have brutally beaten the arrested the immigrant and mistreated and detained the migration researcher. Our European Network is aware that this is not an isolated incident. Each year it is being reported by HLHR-KEMO/i-RED, the Greek RAXEN National Focal Point, that state officials (police officers, border guards, port guards) are responsible for half of the racist violent attacks against migrants and minorities in Greece.
It is also reported that incidents like the one suffered by our colleague Mr Parsanoglou, happen regularly in Greece, since police officers deploy unnecessary violence against arrested migrants in public space, and Greek citizens witnessing the violence intervene in the migrants’ defense, often being arrested and/or mistreated themselves too.
This is a dramatically increasing trend escalated by the racist violence of ultra-right-wing organized violent groups, which operate, undisturbed or even encouraged, as fascist-type civic militia in central Athens neighborhoods.
www.i-red.eu/red.html
