Racist group detained for "migrant hunting" in Evros Region
According to a statement released by the Hellenic Police Organisation, the police took action following a video posted on social media showing 13 irregular migrants from Syria and Pakistan being illegally held in a trailer attached to a vehicle.
The police detained the owner of a vehicle near Alexandroupoli yesterday evening and two people who assisted the owner in this action.
In the video, a person swears at migrants and says: "I collected 25 pieces in the trailer. These will burn us. The whole mountain is full. They are sworn to burn us. Get organised together, let's collect them."
INTERVENTION BY THE HIGH COURT OF GREECE
According to the news of Greek State Television ERT, Greek Supreme Court Prosecutor Yorgos Adilinis demanded an investigation into the racist incident for the crimes of using violence, endangering human life and kidnapping.
Adilinis, in his letter addressed to the Alexandroupoli Prosecutor's Office, stated that the narrator in the video invited other people to racist action and said, "The racist violent action in which a Alexandroupoli resident stacked refugees in a trailer like sardines in the published video is worrying.
Adilinis demanded that the causes of the fires in the region, which have caused loss of life, material damage and natural disasters, be uncovered and that it be investigated whether there is an organised criminal organisation behind these fires.
STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF CITIZEN PROTECTION YANNIS IKONOMOU
"Greece is a state of law with a strong democratic acquis and humanitarian tradition," Greek Minister of Citizen Protection Yannis Ikonomu said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. Street laws cannot be tolerated in any way."
REACTION FROM OPPOSITION
The main opposition Radical Left Alliance (SYRIZA) Parliamentary Spokesperson Nasos Iliopoulos, in a post on social media, accused the government of failing to adequately respond to the fires and criticised it for the presence of racist groups in the Evros Region.
Iliopoulos argued that the lack of proper civil protection led to the burning deaths of 19 people in the region.
Iliopoulos argued that the state mechanism has collapsed in the Evros Region and said, "Far-right groups are chasing migrants and refugees by producing conspiracy theories with the connivance of the government and the support of the Greek Solution Party MP Paris Papadakis."
ACTION AGAINST RACISM
The Unity Movement Against Fascist Threat and Racism (KEERFA), which operates in Greece, criticised the government for turning a blind eye to racist groups for the incident in which irregular migrants were detained in a trailer and called for an anti-racist demonstration in the capital Athens on Thursday, 24 August.
20 PEOPLE, INCLUDING 19 MIGRANTS, DIED IN THE FIRES
A shepherd in Viotia and an irregular migrant in Kavacik (Lefkimi) in Evros Region died on 21 August in the fires that continued for 5 days in the country.
Yesterday, the bodies of 18 people, including 2 children, were found in the Dadia forest area in Evros Region, presumably belonging to irregular migrants trying to cross Evros to Greece.
