Combatting racist violence
Recently, there has been an increase in incidents of racist violence which is directly linked to the European policy of the “unwelcome refugee” and his representation as a threat to national sovereignty, as it was strongly reflected in public discourse, especially in early 2020, and contributed significantly to the reward of racist violence and the intensification of the feeling of impunity.
At the same time, the continuing lack of refugee and migration policy at the level of reception and integration has led to the intensification of xenophobia and intolerance. Despite the changes in the anti-racist legislation, there are still delays in the investigation of crimes caused by prejudice; the competent authorities do not always proceed with prosecution ex officio for every crime with indications of prejudice and the racist motive is not taken into consideration in the initial stages of the investigation, while the authorities do not intervene to rescue the victims and arrest the perpetrators, even when the incident occurred in front of police officers.
WHAT WE SHOULD NOT FORGET
An important moment in the conviction of racist ideas and attacks towards migrants and refugees is the conviction of the leadership (7 members and MPs) and fifty other members of the neo-Nazi party of Golden Dawn as a criminal organization, as well as the conviction of its members for the murder of P. Fyssas, the anti-fascist rapper, the assassination attempt of the Egyptian fishermen and the dangerous bodily harm against the members of the Communist Party-aligned PAME trade union. In particular, the Golden Dawn leadership was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The persecution of the leadership and members of Golden Dawn and the progress of the trial led to the reduction of attacks against migrants and refugees, at least in the areas of Athens and Piraeus where they acted undisturbed. Their conviction as a criminal organization is a message against the organized fascist and racist crime that caused the death of P. Fyssas and Sh. Luqman, a Pakistani worker, and hundreds of other attacks and offenses against migrants, refugees, activists and human rights defenders. The day after the conviction of racist ideas and attacks on migrants and refugees requires increased vigilance to prevent the recurrence of such acts and to prevent far-right rhetoric from hurting our society.
METHODOLOGY
Report and Document
- Participation in the Racist Violence Recording Network
- Interviews and recording of incidents for the Racist Violence Recording Network
Legal actions
- Providing legal support on issues related to racist violence.
- Undertaking cases of racist violence – Legal representation.
- Legal consultation and support of victims of racist violence.
Strategic litigation
- Participation in the submission of the Racist Violence Recording Network, supplementary memo, to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the case of Sakir v. Greece
Advocacy of racist violence issues
- Participation and comments on the National Plan against Racism of the National Commission for Human Rights
- Interventions and development of collaborations
- Participation to Committees and Hearings of Greek and European bodies
- Letters to competent Greek and European bodies
- Articles
- Discrimination: recording and advocating against discrimination
With the support:
