- The Greek government is planning to build a new fence on the country’s border with Türkiye and a new report by the Border Violence Monitoring Network has condemned the ongoing ‘lack of transparency’ regarding the use of surveillance technology on the borders with Türkiye and Bulgaria.
- An investigation has been launched into the suspicious death of a Pakistani man in an Athens police station.
- The Italian government is planning to take a tougher approach to civilian search and rescue operations, including the imposition of fines of up to €10,000 for rule breakers while Doctors Without Borders’ Geo Barents rescue vessel has been detained yet again.
- Students and NGO representatives have joined survivors and the families of victims to commemorate the Lampedusa shipwreck that occurred on 3 October 2013.
The Greek government is planning to build a new fence along its border with Türkiye in order to prevent irregular immigration. The construction of the fence started in 2012 and it has been extended several times using national financial resources. Germany’s recent tougher stance on migration, including proposing to send people on the move back to ‘first-line countries’ such as Greece, has led to renewed calls in the country for the EU to fund the new fence. The European Commission (EC) has insisted that it will not fund the construction of border fences. “Member states must protect the EU’s external borders. They are best placed to define how to do this in practice in a way that is fully in line with EU acquis, including respecting fundamental rights”, said an EC spokesperson. “The new fence will be built with or without Europe”, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said recently. Elsewhere, Germany’s opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has called on the EC to fund the construction of fences along the EU’s external borders in Greece and Poland. “This is a task that affects us all. And anyone who wants secure borders must also commit to border fortifications,” said the CDU’s lead MP on home affairs, Alexander Throm.
A new report by the Border Violence Monitoring Network has condemned the ongoing “lack of transparency” regarding the use of increasingly sophisticated surveillance technology on Greece’s borders with Türkiye and Bulgaria. “There is a persistent lack of transparency around the implementation of this type of equipment and the incorporation of artificial intelligence tools to migration policies,” the organisation said in a statement, adding: “This secrecy constantly hinders attempts by civil society to thoroughly assess the impact of these developments on the lives of people crossing borders”.
On 21 September, a young Pakistani man named Muhammad Kamran Ashiq was found dead at a police station in Athens with bruises and injuries on his body that his family has alleged were inflicted by the Greek police. According to the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat (KEERFA) group, Ashiq had been taken to five different police stations and tortured. On 27 September, the Ministry of Citizen Protection ordered the Ombudsman to lead an investigation into his death. Commenting on the incident, Human Rights Watch issued a statement in which it urged the government to “comply fully with its obligations under international human rights law, including the absolute prohibition on torture and ill-treatment, and ensure all people, regardless of their nationality, immigration status, or ethnic origin, are treated with dignity and their rights are respected”. ECRE member organisation the Greek Forum for Refugees also issued a statement in which it condemned the apparent police brutality. “The shocking images of Mohammed Kamran Ashiq are unfortunately already familiar to us, without surprising us. On the contrary, our anger and frustration are always growing, fear and worry are always at the centre of situations,” it wrote.
The Italian government is planning to take a tougher approach to civilian search and rescue (SAR) operations, including the imposition of fines of up to €10,000 for rule breakers. Under the proposed legislation, which was discussed at a cabinet meeting in Rome on 28 September, SAR aircraft that take off or land in Italy will be required to inform the authorities about any emergencies immediately and to follow their instructions. Meanwhile, on 23 September, the Italian authorities detained the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Geo Barents rescue vessel yet again. The ship had previously received a 60-day detention order on 26 August but this was suspended on 11 September following an appeal by MSF. The latest detention came on 23 September after the Geo Barents undertook two operations in which it brought 206 people to safety on 19 September. In a press release issued on 25 September, MSF condemned the latest detention orders as “a clear attempt by the authorities to ensure that the Geo Barents will not be able to sail again to save lives in the Mediterranean Sea.” Commenting on the Geo Barents’ latest detention, Judith Sunderland from Human Rights Watch said that it was “based on the same twisted logic the Italian government has used repeatedly since early 2023 to obstruct humanitarians from rescuing people on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats in distress”.
On 29 September, a group of students and NGO representatives joined survivors and the families of victims to commemorate the Lampedusa shipwreck that occurred on 3 October 2013. At least 368 people died in the tragedy which happened when a boat that was carrying approximately 500 people from Libya to Italy sank off the island of Lampedusa. The anniversary event was organised by the October 3rd Committee. In a statement issued in advance of the remembrance event, the Committee said that the commemoration was intended to “promote learning opportunities for future European generations to adopt a culture that is open to inclusion and solidarity in order to offset intolerance, racism and discrimination, and to promote inclusion processes that lead to the social inclusion of migrants”. “The initiatives are aimed at strengthening young people’s awareness and knowledge on topics regarding migration, global interdependence and human rights, cultural integration and sheltering migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” it added.
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