Protest in Athens against police treatment of immigrants

From Pakistan's Daily Times:

Hundreds of people on Sunday protested in central Athens against the Greek authorities' treatment of immigrants, following the recent deaths of two Asians near a police headquarters.

Organisers said a 24-year-old Bangladeshi man died on January 3 when he fell into a ravine after a scuffle near an immigration police station in the capital's industrial district.

His death followed the death of a Pakistani in October at the same spot, while another immigrant was found seriously injured there in December.

Greek police deny any involvement in the incidents at its immigration headquarters, where hundreds of immigrants gather every Friday evening to register requests for asylum in the country.

Last month anti-racism campaigners took to the streets in Athens against tougher European Union asylum policies that would increasingly oblige refugees to apply for asylum status from outside the bloc.

More than one million immigrants live in Greece, roughly one-tenth of the population, of whom more than 200,000 lack residency papers. The country also faces a daily influx of migrants who arrive from Asia via Turkey hoping to reach Western Europe. afp


From UN refugee agency says Greek asylum failures symptom of European problem:

The United Nations has joined a chorus of critics warning that the asylum system in Greece treats applicants unfairly and urgently needs reform.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday that its singling out of Greece was an unusual step prompted in part by wider concerns about the European Union's asylum policy.

"The Greek asylum system does not guarantee a fair evaluation of asylum claims," spokesman William Spindler told The Associated Press.

He said that others — including the European Parliament and non-governmental groups — have raised similar concerns about the low number of asylum applications granted by Greece as well as the poor living conditions for refugees in the Mediterranean country.

Greek politicians reacted defensively to the U.N. refugee agency's suggestion last week that other EU countries stop deporting asylum seekers to Greece...