Mosaik Support Center
8. August um 22:14 ·
Bahrooz Aresh and Khozin Hussein Released
8 August, 2017
Lesvos, Greece – After three months in unlawful detention, Bahrooz Aresh
and Khozin Hussein were released by court order. Arash Hampay has broken
his hunger strike on its 41st day.
On 28 June, Amir Hampay, Bahrooz Aresh and Khozin Hussein, three
refugees imprisoned in the Moria Detention Centre in Lesvos began a
hunger strike to protest their arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. All
three have asylum cases pending in the Greek administrative court; their
detention amounted to a gross violation of International, EU and Greek
law. Arash Hampay, Amir’s brother, joined their hunger strike from
outside the detention center the following day. With major humanitarian
agencies, EU and Greek authorities and institutions unwilling to protect
and recognize the rights they once purported to afford the most
vulnerable, it fell to refugees themselves to claim them by recourse to
the only means left to them: their bodies. Together, they demanded the
immediate release of asylum seekers in administrative detention and
sought to raise awareness of the brutal violation of the rights of
asylum seekers indefinitely trapped on Lesvos, facing deprivation,
humiliation, psychological and physical abuse, arbitrary arrest and
detention at the hands of European and Greek authorities.
Their first victory came with Amir’s release on the 24th day of his
hunger strike. Arash and the two remaining prisoners decided to continue
until all were free. On the 35th day of his hunger strike, and after
having lost 30% of his body weight, Bahrooz was advised that if he did
not take food, he would die. Made to choose between life in prison and
death and in prison, the hunger strikers chose life and broke. When
encouraged to break his own hunger strike, Arash insisted that his body
could endure, and remained committed to his purpose to continue until
Bahrooz and Khozin were released. He continued to refuse food until
today, on the 41st day of his hunger strike, following petitions filed
by the prisoners’ lawyers and under mounting international pressure, the
court ordered the release. Arash, Bahrooz and Khozin met each other for
the first time at the bus stop of Sapphous Square, where Arash held
daily protests calling for freedom.
Together Arash, Amir, Bahrooz and Khozin won their battle without the
aid of major organizations, state or international bodies. But they did
inspire grassroots mobilisations spanning continents, as individuals,
networks, associations, unions and press organs voiced their support
from Hong Kong to Colombia, lobbied their government representatives,
and aided the hunger strikers in their resolve to shine a light on the
brutal conditions faced by refugees in Europe. In Arash’s words: “Do not
assume that this victory lies only with the freedom of the three
prisoners. This victory is of the European people and the people from
all over this Earth. The heart of this victory is the people overcoming
the state… The hunger strike ended today. We were victorious. The
struggle will always continue as long as injustice remains. Prisons
still exist in our world and so do borders, which continue to separate
people from each other. Let us not give up the world for evil. Let us
fill this day with joy. We have ended the hunger strike VICTORIOUS after
41 days.”
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» Lesvos, Greece – After three months in unlawful detention, Bahrooz Aresh and Khozin Hussein were released by court order. Arash Hampay has broken his hunger strike on its 41st day.