LETTER FROM ATHENS

On September 21 at the Agios Panteleimonas police station in central Athens, Muhammad Kamran Ashiq, 37, a Pakistani migrant who had lived in Greece for 20 years, was found dead. Quickly, images of the naked man, covered in bruises and welts, were published in the press and on social media, sparking outrage across the country. The left-wing daily Efsyn claimed that he had been "tortured to death" by the police after being shuffled for several days between five different police stations in the Greek capital, without his family or lawyer being informed.

On September 18, Ashiq was arrested after a woman reported that he had followed her home. At the police station where he was detained, he allegedly broke a sink, according to the police statement. He was taken to court and sentenced for "damaging other people's property," which carries a four-month prison sentence.

The police claimed that the day after his conviction, the migrant was found unconscious in his cell, which, unlike other areas of the police station, did not have surveillance cameras. "Who caused these multiple wounds all over his body that led him to the grave?," asked the Greek anti-racist movement KEERFA.

"The explanations provided by the Greek police do little to clarify this case. They do not address why this man was transferred from one police station to another, why he had no communication with his family or lawyer for so many days, why the place where he was found dead was not monitored, or why they did not treat him since he was injured," said Kostas Arvanitis, an MEP from the left-wing Syriza party. This political group has called for any potential racist motive behind this crime to be investigated by the judiciary.

Following strong reactions from the opposition and NGOs, and several demonstrations outside the police station denouncing police violence, the citizen protection ministry ordered the Ombudsman to lead an investigation into the circumstances of the detainee's death and potential abuses by the police, in order to have "complete and rapid clarification" on this case.

However, before tempers could calm, another disturbing event occurred at another Athens police station, this time in Omonia, which is notorious for its mistreatment of detainees. On October 1, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi migrant was discovered lifeless in his cell after hanging himself with fabric from his clothing. "The police are calling it a suicide in a cell that held 11 other detainees. Did no one notice that someone wanted to end their life?" asked KEERFA. The prosecutor's office has also ordered an investigation into this case.

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