Immigrant uprising in Pagani detention centre

greece / turkey / cyprus | migration / racism | news report Wednesday September 23, 2009 20:17 by No Border ngnm55 at gmail dot com

In the island of Lesbos, Greece

Pagani is an infamous immigrant detention centre in Mytilini, Lesbos Island, in Greece. Its sub-human conditions became known through pictures and videos circulated on-line. At the moment we write this, the detained immigrants there are revolting and have set the areas around the detention centre on fire.

Pagani is an infamous immigrant detention centre in Mytilini, Lesbos Island, in Greece. Its sub-human conditions became known through pictures and videos circulated on-line. At the moment we write this, the detained immigrants there are revolting and have set the areas around the detention centre on fire. Comrades are already there.

The areas adjacent to the detention building were set on fire by the immigrants.

Pagani became infamous after its sub-human conditions were revealed in pictures and videos posted on-line. The immigrants have also started demolishing the fence around the detention centre’s building. There is pressing need for more comrades there. If you can please come. More information will be posted later.

4:56pm: The immigrants that were detained in the three ground-floor cage rooms (cells) are outside, in the areas around the detention building. There is a lot of disorder on the first floor (above the ground floor).

5:04pm: Television crews are there. OPKE (riot police forces) are along the small road nearby the back entrance of the detention centre. The situation is agitated.

5:25pm: The immigrants demand papers that would allow them to legally stay in Greece for 30 days and let them leave. These days there were over 600 detained immigrants in Pagani, while during a telephone conversation a bus carrying 40 new immigrants reached there. It is unknown what will happen next.

8:06pm: The adult immigrants have returned by their own will in their rooms (cells). The under-age immigrants were still outside demanding papers (permits to stay legally in Greece) and to be released (from the prison). All prison guards have deserted the area.

Imprisoned migrants have flocked to the yard of the prison, shouting “Azadi, Azadi” (freedom). Women detained on the first floor left their cells. Inside the cells, matrasses have been burnt, and the bars from some cell windows have been removed. More and more people from Mytilini are coming to Pagani, press and TV is there also.

Of the 600 migrants kept in the prison, some of them are under-age.

For the avoidance of doubt, when we say ‘detention centre’ we mean prison! Practically it’s the same thing, really.

There is a group of comrades for solidarity outside the camp, but there is little they can do at the moment as police forces have arrived. The migrants ask for their permits to be given and leave the camp.

Info (in English, Greek and German) and photos at

http://lesvos09.antira.info
http://de.indymedia.org/2009/09/261623.shtml
http://de.indymedia.org/2009/09/261633.shtml
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_...82081
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_...82012