[ALBSA-Info] Albanian Helsinki Committee

[Agron Alibali]

ALBANIAN HELSINKI COMMITTEE
RR. Sami Frashëri, Pall. 20/1, Hyrja B, Ap. 21, Tirana - ALBANIA
Tel-Fax: ++ 355 4 233 671/40891 e-mail: (temporarily) erdi at a...
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Two prestigious organizations denounce severe human rights violations in
Greece

It is made widely known in the press that two international human rights
organizations with reputation world wide, Amnesty International and
International Helsinki Federation, have denounced human rights violations in
Greece in a special report.

Among many victims, a special attention is paid to the Albanian emigrants
who have often become objects of violence under different circumstances.
Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) fully joins the above-mentioned report,
moreover that this Committee itself has brought to light, from time to time,
several maltreatment cases of the Albanian emigrants.

AHC has denounced cases when Albanian emigrants have either generally
suffered from an anti-Albanian psychosis or have been objects of racial
prejudices. AHC has not had the opportunity to monitor itself the situation
on the ground for reasons that are easily understood. But AHC has
continuously received complaints from many emigrants who have experienced
violence by the Greek police where they live in different cities of Greece.
Especially severe have been cases of use of violence towards Albanian
emigrants at the borders. Events, which have been taken place lately, are
clear evidence.

Apart from these violations, AHC has received complaints from Albanian
detainees who suffer their imprisonment in the Greek prisons. Despite of the
fact that it has not been possible to establish a direct contact with the
complainer, AHC has gathered data, has received letters and phone calls
where severe maltreatment of the detainees have been reported, different
from the treatment given to the other detainees. Quite often, they have
required for repatriation in Albania in order to serve their sentence in the
Albanian prisons.

Under these circumstances, AHC brings this issue, which according to this
report is a keen one, to the attention of the authorities. It is expected
that this issue becomes an object of discussion between the respective
authorities of the two parties. This can be also influenced by the Treaty of
Friendship signed by these two countries in March 1996, in which the Greek
minority in Albania and the Albanian emigrant in Greece are considered to be
" a bridge of continuous development of relationship between the two
countries".

Tirana, 26.09.2002


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