Criminalising those seeking Safety #Freetheboys
Smuggling is obviously big business. Without safe and legal routes to claim asylum, it is often the only way for people to migrate. Smuggling usually exploits people’s desperation to escape war, persecution, and poverty. But the way anti-smuggling law is being applied does not target the real smugglers. Instead, it criminalises the very people these laws should protect, who are often themselves victimised by smugglers.
The anti-smuggling law, specifically “Law 4251/2014 Article 29, par. 5: Obligations of private individuals and employees - penalties, is being misapplied to criminalise young Sudanese boys between the ages of 15 and 20, detaining 50 of them. Safety is being systematically denied to those whose only route to seek it is through the asylum system. Instead of protection, these young people face incarceration - punished not for crimes, but for trying to seek refuge.
How are the EU and the Greek state promoting the right to safety ? Are they creating safe and legal pathways for people to enter the country and seek asylum? Are they offering support to people that almost lost their lives in a shipwreck?
No. Instead, they choose to criminalise them. They imprison them, take away their belongings, and deprive them of their basic human rights. The right to safety. The right to food. The right to live in dignified conditions.
Testimonies from the boys’ legal support say that “in reality, the law is completely useless” as it’s “filling Greek prisons with people who have no history or connection to criminal acts”.
According to de.criminalize, the conditions in detention were unlivable - there was no clean food, space and the boys were constantly bitten by mosquitos without any protection. The boys organised, protesting for better conditions. The response of the prison authorities was once again punishment. They separated them and sent half of them from Avlonas Juvenile Prison to Malandrinos Prison, increasing their distance from Athens and from their legal and community support.
Solidarity groups and organisations are asking for the ending of the criminalisation and incarceration of these boys. If you want to support, raise awareness by sharing this post, and donate to the fundraising campaign linked below.
Written by Orsalia Papadimitriou and Megan Attard
Emergency Support for 50 Sudanese Boys Imprisoned in Greece | GoGetFunding
This fund has been created to provide emergency financial support for the 50 Sudanese boys who have been imprisoned by the Greek state on false charges of "smuggling." Most are threatened with lengthy sentences, including life imprisonment. Proceeds from this fund will be utilised to provide the boys with mosquito nets, phone cards, shoes and other urgently needed supplies.
Law 4251/2014 - Immigration, Social Integration Code and other provisions
ΤΟ ΚΡΆΤΟΣ ΔΙΚΑΊΟΥ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΆΔΑ ΥΠΟ ΑΠΕΙΛΗ | Borderline Europe
The Systematic Criminalisation of Migrants for Driving a Boat or a Car to Greece | Borderline Europe
"No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land" | Global Citizen
Γιατί οι Σουδανοί πρόσφυγες πολέμου γεμίζουν τις φυλακές στην Ελλάδα | Parallaxi Magazine
