Amnesty International: Culture of racism blights Greek police

TIRANA, April 3 – Greek police suffers from a long-standing culture of impunity, entrenched racism and endemic violence, Amnesty International says in report issued this week.
Amnesty International’s report, “A law unto themselves: A culture of abuse and impunity in the Greek police,” exposes the many and persistent human rights violations by law enforcement officials, the organization says. It details the root and branch nature of the lack of accountability and the failure to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into complaints.
“Our investigation shows that the Golden Dawn debacle is only the tip of the iceberg. Entrenched racism, excessive use of force and deep-rooted impunity are a blight on the Greek police. Successive Greek governments have failed so far to acknowledge, let alone tackle, these human rights violations by police and on-going impunity,” said Jezerca Tigani, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Programme Director at Amnesty International. “There is an urgent need for a comprehensive structural reform of law enforcement including the creation of an independent police complaint mechanism to investigate allegations of unlawful police conduct. The Greek authorities must restore the public confidence in Greek law enforcement structures.”
Amnesty International has been documenting the unlawful behaviour of police in Greece over many years. Its new research looks at the situation over the last two years and concludes that it remains bleak.
At the end of March 2014, police at Nigrita Prison in northern Greece reportedly beat to death an inmate in solitary confinement. The autopsy revealed that he was extensively beaten on the soles of his feet and his chest, and that he had burns on his hands.
In the past three years, there has been a dramatic escalation in hate attacks against refugees and migrants. Hate crimes have also been recorded against the Roma community and the LGBTI community. Law enforcement officials have reportedly failed to prevent such attacks and/or have failed to investigate the hate motive behind them.
“With their actions Greek police pander to xenophobic far-right groups who are intent on attacking anyone who does not conform to their idea of mainstream society,” said Jezerca Tigani.