An international rights group has urged the European Union to pressure Greece into ending its “abusive” treatment of illegal migrants.
A Human Rights Watch report released last week accused the Greek government of detaining migrants, including unaccompanied children, in poor conditions, and denying them proper access to the asylum process.
“Greece’s abusive detention and illegal expulsion of migrants has gone unchecked for too long,” Simone Troller, a researcher at the rights group, said.
“With a new government in place, ending this abuse, protecting migrant children and reforming asylum practices should be urgent priorities for Athens, and for Brussels.”
But Giorgos Petalotis, a spokesman for the Greek government, said the new Papandreou government was committed to protecting human rights, citing their “decision to create a new citizen’s rights ministry” as evidence.