Rights groups have expressed concern over the rounding up of thousands of 'irregular migrants' in Athens by Greek police.
According to Human Rights Watch, since August 4, 2012, more than 6,000 foreigners presumed to be undocumented migrants have been taken into police stations for questioning, and more than 1,500 arrested for illegal entry and residence with a view to deportation to their countries of origin.
Amnesty International said that Greek authorities must halt a mass police crackdown on "irregular migrants" and allow for effective access to asylum-seeking procedures to those in need of international protection following reports that more than 7,500 foreign nationals have been arrested in Athens since last Thursday.
According to Amnesty, Greek police said around 2,000 of those rounded up were found with no papers and were placed in administrative detention. Amnesty is concerned that people are being held in overcrowded conditions at the Attika Aliens Police Directorate or at other police stations in Athens. Others have been transferred to police academies in Northern Greece which are being used as detention facilities.
BBC News reported that more than 1,600 of those detained will be deported.
Human Rights Watch noted: "Mass expulsions are strictly prohibited under international law. Greece is also legally bound not to return refugees to persecution or anyone to risk of torture. Yet Greece has failed to demonstrate its capacity even to receive asylum claims, let alone to process and decide them fairly."
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias was quoted by BBC News as saying that Greece's economic plight meant it could not afford an "invasion of immigrants".
"Unless we create the proper structure to handle immigration, then we will fall apart," he said.
According to BBC News, Greece has frequently called on other European nations to do more to help tackle illegal migration into the EU, arguing that it bears a disproportionate burden.
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