Since 22 March, 46 people held in Korinthos detention centre have been on hunger strike protesting their arbitrary imprisonment, the violation of their rights and the inhuman conditions of detention.
A month ago, on 26 February, 13 other people went on hunger strike in the same detention centre. These 13 people were arrested after a shipwreck in December and have been detained ever since with no further explanation, denying them the right to ask for asylum. This group, having first been shipwrecked, were immediately placed in pre-removal detention, despite the Greek Ombudsperson requesting their immediate release. While on strike, the police raided their cells, threatening and manipulating them into ending it. A few days later, 8 people were transferred from Korinthos to Amygdaleza detention center, without being given a reason.
Protests in Korinthos detention centre, including hunger strikes, are not new, nor is it the first time we hear ahout the notorious conditions in which detainees live. There are several reports of the lack of hygiene, lack of health care and other basic items. People are detained for months without being told why, or how long they will be there. They are detained for an average of seven months, with reports of people being held for beyond 18 months, which is the maximum time that people are able to be administratively detained in Greece.
This indefinite detention, combined with the lack of proper access to healthcare, the dirty bedbug-ridden cells, and minimal, often inedible food, leads to the deterioration of the mental health of the people. During the years that the detention centre has been open, several deaths have been documented. In 2013 three people died as a result of medical neglect. Over the years at least three people have committed suicide, the last one in March 2024. During the last month people have reported that the situation is deteriorating, with people self harming due to their psychological state; another person was taken to a mental hospital after attempting suicide.
The deadly Greek and European migration polices don’t end at the borders, where people are being pushed back on a daily basis, left adrift in the middle of the sea, or hunted in the forests. The whole system is based in detention and repression.
As we write these lines, 46 people have been on hunger strike for over a week. The strike continues, despite the heavy repression they face, with police injuring many people and subjecting them to humiliating control in their cells.
Two days after the start of the strike, a demonstration in solidarity with the detainees took place, with people gathering in front of Korinthos detention centre and shouting slogans together with the detainees. The police blocked the demonstration, preventing them from passing by the neighboring CCAC.
Last weekend there were calls in major Greek cities for solidarity gatherings with hunger strikers and for open assemblies to get organised to support them. Let the solidarity continue, let’s support our comrades on hunger strike and rise up against the deadly migration policies.
Freedom of movement for all
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