“Police in Athens frequently harass and abuse homeless people, people who use drugs, and sex workers. Police stops and arbitrary detention of people who live or spend considerable amounts of time on the streets of downtown Athens interfere with their access to healthcare and support services,’ wrote the Human Rights Watch in its recent report on Greek police. According to the organization, the police in Greece control and detain people walking in the street, waiting for the bus or visiting the city center to find soup kitchens or shelters where they can wash or receive support. “Police round-ups interfere with the ability of these groups to access health information, medical care, and other services they need, and to exercise fully their right to health. These policing practices undermine the work of independent public agencies like OKANA (State Organization Against Drugs) and KETHEA, or nongovernmental organizations such as Praxis, Doctors of the World, or Positive Voice and its outreach program Athens Checkpoint in providing direct services to these vulnerable groups,” added the report. Furthermore, the Human Rights Watch found that not much has changed since the new government was elected in January 2015. After taking office, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced the end of abusive anti-migrant police sweeps in Athens. However, through various interviews the organizations soon found that the abuse has not stopped under the new government. Over the last years, several international human rights bodies have criticized Greece for not recognizing that the police’s abuse is a serious problem and have repeatedly proposed to establish a reliable, independent and effective complaints mechanism for investigating allegations regarding abusive police practices.
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