http://alarmphone.org/en/2015/12/15/human-rights-violations-on-the-island-of-farmakonisi-alarm-phone-demands-immediate-transfer-of-all-refugees-stranded-on-the-greek-military-island-farmakonisi-travellers-stuck-on-the-island/
Human rights violations on the island of Farmakonisi
December 15, 2015
Alarm Phone demands immediate transfer of all refugees stranded on the
Greek military island Farmakonisi – Travellers stuck on the island face
inhumane conditions
We strongly condemn the human rights violations that occur on the island
of Farmakonisi and nearby at sea. We demand the immediate transfer of
refugees from Farmakonisi to other islands where support is available
and where people are not subjected to military control. We also demand
an adequate reception infrastructure and that the UNHCR, NGOs and civil
solidarity groups are granted access to this military island.
In the past weeks, the Alarm Phone reported repeatedly about the
life-threatening situation that travellers face who, after crossing the
Aegean Sea, stranded on different Greek islands for hours or days until
getting rescued by Greek authorities. One island where many people
frequently strand and where they, at times, get stuck for several days
and nights, is the island of Farmakonisi. The situation for travellers
landing there is different from the ones on all the other islands in
this area, due to the island’s special status.
Farmakonisi is an uninhabited island, a military observatory and
restricted area. A military special monitoring unit is stationed there
and the Ministry of Defence is its responsible authority. The current
situation on this island is particularly dramatic for refugees due to
the absence of any reception infrastructure. Newly arriving people are
dealt with only by the military until the port authority from Leros
arrive to pick them up and transfer them. Access to Farmakonisi in order
to address the basic needs of newcomers has never been granted to NGOs
and the UNHCR. For a long time now, the UNHCR is seeking to receive the
permission to set up a first reception facility on the island.
Usually, refugees are not offered required amounts of food, water or
adequate shelter. Sometimes they even receive neither food nor water for
several hours. In many distress cases when people reported to us from
the island, they stated that they had to wait without blankets, none
were given even to the smallest infants. And of course, considering that
many refugees are survivors of war, facing military forces after the
traumatic experience of crossing the sea by boat is a difficult
situation in itself.
The personnel of the coastguard on Leros, who are responsible to
transfer travellers off Farmakonisi, often do not respond in a timely
manner to distress calls of stranded groups. We have testimonies
suggesting that many were even forced to stay on Farmakonisi for several
days and nights before being transferred.
Moreover, travellers have reported ill-treatment by the military
personnel on the island, stating that they had been threatened and
beaten. We acknowledge that compared to the situation in the past, such
cases of violence seem to occur less frequently. Yet, impunity seemingly
characterizes any human rights violations connected to this island until
today.
However, many human rights violations on Farmakonisi concerning illegal
push-back practices have been exposed by different human rights groups
throughout the last three years. Newcomers were detained on the island,
sometimes mistreated and even tortured (1). Farmakonisi became
specifically well known when, on the 20th of January 2014, eight
children and three women died when their vessel capsized near the island
while being towed by the Greek coastguard, in what seems to have been a
pushback operation in breach of international law. In July 2014,
survivors and families of the victims made an appeal for justice after
Greek courts stopped all further investigations in Greece (2). In
January 2015, the case was brought before the European Court of Human
Rights.
We as the Alarm Phone nowadays receive many emergency calls from
Farmakonisi. We continue to offer support in co-operation with the
responsible authorities, but we also document testimonies of alleged
human rights violations and pass them on not only to the authorities for
further internal investigation but also to the public.
Each individual failure to assist a person in danger and each separate
ill-treatment should be brought to justice. Human suffering needs to
take an end. Refugees are no territorial invaders or military targets
but people in need of international protection.
We repeat once more: We strongly condemn any human rights violations
that occur on the island of Farmakonisi and nearby at sea. We demand the
immediate transfer of refugees from Farmakonisi to other islands where
support is feasible and where people are free. We also demand that the
UNHCR, NGOs and civil solidarity groups are granted access to this
military island to set up an adequate reception infrastructure.
Freedom of movement is everybody’s right!
Alarm Phone, 15 December 2015
Additional information:
Farmakonisi (Greek: Φαρμακονήσι) lies south of Agathonisi, east of the
islands of Leipsoi, Patmos and Leros, and north of the islands of
Kalymnos and Pserimos.
(1) Pro Asyl published a very detailed report on push-backs in November
2013 and exposed several such instances near Farmakonisi, including
cases where the travellers had already landed on the island of
Farmakonisi and were pushed back afterwards. See:
http://www.proasyl.de/fileadmin/fmdam/l_EU_Fluechtlingspolitik/proasyl_pushed_back_24.01.14_a4.pdf
(2) The appeal of the survivors and families can be found here:
http://www.proasyl.de/en/home/farmakonisi-we-demand-justice/
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