Deported refugees abused in Greece

A recent study by the Danish Red Cross documents that the rights of asylum seekers are routinely violated in Greece. Yet Denmark continues to deport refugees to Greece if they have been registered there before arriving in Denmark. This practice is legal because applications for asylum should as a rule be decided in the first EU country an asylum seeker arrives in. And often, that country is Greece.

But a study conducted by the Red Cross among 300 refugee families show that around 25 percent have been subjected to serious violations of their rights while in Greece, says psychologist Ditte Shapiro from the Danish Red Cross.

- It is my assessmet that at least 25 percent have been subjected to abuse while in Greece, she says.

And the abuse is of an extremely serious order:

- Parents report having been beaten by the police while holding their children by the hand. A pregnant woman in her last trimester was denied medical assistance when she went into labour. And young children have been denied medical assistance, says Ditte Shapiro.

Red Cross demands ban
Nobody should be deported to those conditions, says the Danish Red Cross.

- Our study clearly documents that asylum seekers are treated inhumanely in Greece, and therefore Denmark should immediately stop deporting asylum seekers to Greece, says Secretary General of the Danish Red Cross, Anders Ladekarl.

The so-called Dublin regulation stipulates that applications for asylum as a rule should be decided in the first EU country an asylum seeker enters. But the Dublin regulation also gives membership countries the right to decide asylum cases despite the asylum seeker having previously been in another EU country.

In the case of Greece, the United Nations recommends that countries avail themselves of this opportunity and refrain from sending refugees back to Greece. But since 2006, Denmark has deported at least 20 refugees to Greece. The number isn't higher because Denmark first demands assurances from Greece that the refugees will be allowed to seek asylum there.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs stated that starting now, Denmark will no longer wait on Greek assurances, but will deport the asylum seekers as default practice.

The Danish Red Cross is outraged.

- This is highly surprising and appalling. We present documentation for how asylum seekers are treated in Greece. And the repsonse is that Denmark plans to deport even more people to Greece. It is inhuman, says Anders Ladekarl.

Translated by Martin Lamberth, Statsbiblioteket