ANKARA
Greek police are accused of using excessive force against protesters with impunity, which is deeply rooted in the country’s culture, according to Amnesty International.
Nearly 50 people were arrested by December last year, including the leader of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, two police officers and five MPs. They were charged with offences ranging from murder to blackmail, Amnesty International, known as AI, said in a report published on Wednesday.
Ten police officers were found to have direct or indirect links with criminal activities attributed to Golden Dawn members, who have been accused of hate crimes against immigrants and ethnic minorities.
“Police have been used as an indiscriminate tool by the authorities,’’ said Jezerca Tigani, Europe and Central Asia Deputy Programme Director at Amnesty International.
‘’Instead of maintaining law and order, all too often they have been tasked with stifling dissent and persecuting members of vulnerable groups,’’ Tigani said.
Among the cases detailed in the report is an incidence at the end of March 2014, when police at Nigrita Prison in northern Greece reportedly beat to death an inmate in solitary confinement. The autopsy revealed that he was extensively beaten on the soles of his feet and his chest, and that he had burns on his hands.
The report said successive Greek governments have failed to tackle 'human rights violations' by police. Law enforcement officials also lack accountability and fail to conduct thorough and impartial investigations, according to AI.
Tigani said there is an urgent need for a comprehensive structural reform of law enforcement, including the creation of an independent police complaint mechanism to investigate allegations of unlawful police conduct.
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