greek police, Refugees, Syntagma, Syria



Fifty-one Syrian refugees, among them six women and two children, who were sleeping out on Syntagma Square as part of a protest that started almost a month ago were removed by police in the early hours of Monday morning and reportedly taken to the aliens department on Petrou Ralli street.

According to a solidarity committee that has been supporting the Syrians, a contingent of police arrived to where the Syrians were sleeping at around 2.45am and quickly ordered them into a waiting police van. The same reports said that some of the Syrians were taken away barefoot as they had not been given time to gather their belongings, including important papers and documents that they had stored in bags. The committee said one Syrian was struck in the mouth and left bleeding.

A short time later, municipal cleaning crews arrived and removed the Syrians belongings and dismantled the temporary structures they had erected.

The Syrians began their protest on November 19 in order to highlight their predicament as refugees. They are seeking ways to continue their journeys to preferred destinations in Europe, where many have family or can expect to receive the necessary support as refugees.

The Greek authorities have said they can accept up to ten asylum applications from Syrians per day but warned that apart from access to healthcare, the state is not in a position to support the Syrians in any other way.

Some days ago, a number of Syrian families were taken to municipal hostels, where they have been accommodated.

Rimas, 1 month old, born in Turkey during journey to Europe. Will riot cops use teargas w/her here? #SyrianRefugeesGR pic.twitter.com/tVoFlfNv6v — Mehran Khalili (@mkhalili) December 14, 2014

Other sources: OmniaTV