Press release
UN body ruling:
Greece failed to provide effective remedy to Roma for
ill-treatment and discrimination
Athens-Geneva, 20 August
2012. The UN Human Rights Committee held in
the case Katsaris v. Greece (Communication No. 1558/2007)[1],
submitted
jointly by the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and the World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT), that Greece failed to investigate a claim of ill-treatment and
discrimination against a Greek Roma.
“This ruling on a case of physical
abuse and discriminatory practices against a member of its Roma community
exposes the emblematic failure of remedies to victims of such violence in
Greece”, stated Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General, and Panayote
Dimitras, Spokesperson of Greek Helsinki Monitor in a joint comment to the
decision.
“We call on the authorities to
comply with the ruling, especially by proceeding with a complete and impartial
investigation into the acts of ill-treatment and discrimination, and by
providing the victim with an adequate compensation”, they added. Moreover,
in accordance with the Committee’s Views, OMCT and GHM recall the Greek
authorities’ responsibility to take concrete measures to ensure that similar violations
are prevented from occurring in the future.
In this regard, both organizations remain preoccupied that both the European
Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Committee have found Greece in violation
of torture-related fundamental human rights in 14 cases, 10 of which were
submitted by GHM. Yet, so far none of the decisions rendered has been fully implemented.
One of these cases is Kalamiotis v.
Greece, also jointly submitted with OMCT, in which the Human Rights Committee
has found that the Greece has violated the ICCPR by failing to effectively
investigate allegations of police brutality.[2] However, up until this
date the victim has not received any form of remedy or compensation.
These cases are part of a wider problem of violence and failing
investigations and remedies as recently highlighted in proceedings before the
UN Committee Against Torture (CAT). OMCT and GHM, in cooperation with Minority
Rights Group - Greece (MRG-G) and the Coordinated Organizations and Communities
for Roma Human Rights in Greece (SOKADRE), had jointly submitted an alternative
report to the UN Committee Against Torture, as well as an update of such
report, that reveal the impunity that essentially exists for those responsible
for committing acts of torture and ill-treatment. Moreover, these reports show
that Roma people are discriminated against on a large scale, and that police
officers use excessive violence against them.[3]
Concerned by the limited number of prosecutions, convictions and
sanctions following allegations of torture, the Committee Against Torture (CAT),
in its concluding observations issued in May 2012, has urged Greece to “undertake prompt, impartial and effective
investigations into all allegations of torture, ill-treatment or excessive use
of force… [and]…duly bring to trial alleged perpetrators of acts of torture or
ill-treatment and, if they are found guilty, punish them with appropriate
penalties which take into account the grave nature of their acts.”
Additionally, CAT recommended that Greece “should
without exception and as a matter of urgency offer prompt redress to victims of
violence which has been determined by international supervisory organs and
courts, such this Committee and the Human Rights Committee, as well as the
European Court of Human Rights.” [4]
In light of these repeated international holdings, OMCT and GHM call
upon the Greece to undertake a comprehensive and transparent stocktaking to
review its compliance with CAT’s general recommendations and the HRC’s specific
views so as to ensure a full and effective implementation of the Committee’s
decision in Katsaris v. Greece and,
more generally, to ensure that the international standards on the protection of
fundamental human rights are respected throughout the country.
‘The financial crisis presently
affecting the country cannot be an excuse for the non-implementation of international
human rights decisions. To the contrary, protection against non-discrimination
and effective remedies are particularly vital to prevent violence in an
increasingly charged social environment’, noted Gerald Staberock and
Panayote Dimitras.
OMCT and GHM will closely follow the implementation of the decision by
the Greek authorities and will work together to reinforce the respect of the
prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Greece.
For more information, please contact:
Panayote Dimitras, GHM: +306932746619
Gerald Staberock, OMCT: +41 22 809 49 39
Background
In its 105th session, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) found that the
State of Greece has violated the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) in the case Katsaris v.
Greece (Communication No. 1558/2007).[5] This case was submitted jointly by GHM and
OMCT on behalf of Mr. Nikos Katsaris, a Greek Roma who was victim of ill-treatment
and discrimination by Greece police officers. On 12 September 1999,
Mr. Katsaris was stopped by the police when driving away from a car market
together with his father, brother and cousin. He was kicked, pointed with a gun
and threatened by the police officers. He was subsequently handcuffed and
brought to the police station, where he was placed in overcrowded holding
cells, from which he was released only the next day. During the time he was in
detention, Mr. Katsaris was subjected to racially motivated insults and verbal
abuse by the police officers. Later, a prosecutor used discriminatory language
referring to his Romani life-style.
There have been
two previous convictions of Greece for police ill-treatment by the United Nations Human Rights Committee
(HRC). On 28 March 2006, in the Case of
Alexandros Kouidis v. Greece, the HRC found that Greece’s failure, at the
level of the Supreme Court, to take account of the author’s claims that his
confession was given as a result of ill-treatment by police, from 17 May to 27
June 1991, amounted to a violation of article 14, paragraph 3(g) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).[6] On 24 July 2008 in the Case of Andreas Kalamiotis v. Greece,
the HRC found that Greece violated Article 2 paragraph 3 (right to an effective
remedy) read together with Article 7 (prohibition of torture) of the ICCPR
concerning the lack of an effective investigation into the allegations of
police brutality against Rom Andreas Kalamiotis, on 14 June 2001, in Aghia Paraskevi (Greater
Athens).[7]
Moreover, there
have been seven convictions of Greece by the ECtHR for ill-treatment by police.
The first ruling, issued on 13 December 2005, concerned the beating of Roma Lazaros Bekos and Eleftherios Koutropoulos
on 8 May 1998.[8] The second ruling, issued on 18
January 2007, concerned the beating of Syrian Mhn Ghassan Alsayed Allaham[9] on 8 September 1998. The third
ruling, issued on 24 May 2007, concerned the beating of Dimitris Zelilof on 23
December 2001.[10] The fourth ruling, issued on 6
December 2007, concerned the beating of Romni Fani-Yannula Petropoulou-Tsakiris on 28 January 2002.[11] The fifth ruling, issued on 14
January 2010, concerned the beating of Panayote
Galotskin on 23 December 2001.[12] The sixth ruling, issued on 22
April 2010, concerned the beating of Roma
Theodoros Stefanou on 5 August 2001.[13] The seventh ruling, issued on 17
January 2012, concerned the torture of Necati
Zontul by coastguard officers on 5 June 2001.[14]
On the other hand, there have been four convictions of Greece by the
ECtHR for injury or death from police shooting. The first ruling, issued on 20
December 2004, concerned the shooting of Christos
Makaratzis on 13 September 1995.[15] The second ruling, issued
on 21 June 2007, concerned the shooting and rendering invalid, on 26 January
1998, of Rom Ioannis Karagiannopoulos.[16] The third ruling, issued
on 8 July 2007, concerned the fatal shooting of Albanian Gentjan Celniku on 21 November 2001.[17] The fourth ruling, issued
on 8 January 2010, concerned the fatal shooting of Nikos Leonidis on 25 March 2000.[18]
The Katsaris case has been
brought jointly by both organisations as part of OMCT litigation support to UN
treaty bodies. It is the third condemnation of a state party in the course of
2012 following cases in Paraguay and the first ever submission of a torture
case against Mexico to the UN Committee Against Torture.
[1] The UN HRC Views will
be available on line at http://tb.ohchr.org/default.aspx?country=gr
[2] http://www.omct.org/monitoring-protection-mechanisms/urgent-interventions/greece/2008/08/d19481/
[3] See State Violence in Greece : An
Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture 47th Session,
World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Coordinated Organizations and
Communities for Roma Human Rights in Greece (SOKADRE), Greek Helsinki Monitor
(GHM), Minority Rights Group - Greece (MRG-G). Also see: State Violence in Greece: An Update (October
2011-April 2012), Alternative Report to the United Nations Committee Against
Torture, 48th Session, submitted by the same NGOs. See : http://www.omct.org/monitoring-protection-mechanisms/reports-and-publications/greece/2012/04/d21757/
[4] See Commitee Against
Torture, Concluding Observations :
Greece, UN Document CAT/C/GRC/CO/5-6, 27 June 2012. See : http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.GRC.CO.5-6.doc
[5] The UN HRC Views will
be available on line at http://tb.ohchr.org/default.aspx?country=gr
[8]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=790893&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[9]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=813016&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[10]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=817322&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[11]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=826734&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[12]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=861025&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[13]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=866810&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[14]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=898517&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[15]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=709521&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
[16]http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=819088&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649
Katsaris v. Greece
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