Raping and lynching in exotic Greece
Terminal 119 | 16.12.2006 15:57 | Anti-racism | Gender | Migration | Social Struggles | World
Raping and lynching in exotic Greece
In early November in Amarynthos a village in Evoia, Greece four Greek high school students raped a sixteen-year-old Bulgarian girl in the toilettes of the school and recorded it in video. The young girl did not only suffer physical abuse but psychological as well, as the local community had a biased stance to the incident making up their minds that it wasn’t rape. When reported to the police apparently they said; ‘What can we do now?’ The head-teacher expelled the male students but the girl as well (!). These actions suggest a certain discrimination against the young refugee. One could think ‘would it be the same if the girl was Greek? Actually not, as a similar case involving a Greek girl proves. The people of the village were annoyed that the young Bulgarian accused the boys of such a crime. Thus, they forced the girl and her mother away from the village. As if this was not enough the offended families of the boys and other over zealous villagers became violent to the mother of the girl outside the court where the case was heard.
Some people did not turn a blind eye; anarchists groups from Thessaloniki and Athens mainly, knew from the beginning that this rape would become their concern. On the 19th of November organised a demonstration in the village of one hundred people approximately. It was about taking responsibility for a society that enacts or remains silent over such crimes. They decided to demonstrate in the village and they did that in order to denounce the shared responsibility of the local society over the physical and psychological abuse of the young refugee. They went there to say: ‘Rapists are not from a special cast are everyday men’ and the locals responded ‘she got what she deserved’ admitting openly their identification with the offenders. The demonstrators heard more appalling remarks while there, but the villagers did not stop there. They orchestrated a vicious attack on them; they sent away the two coaches and when the demonstrators returned to the agreed meeting point in order to leave they attacked them using stones, bricks, pieces of marble that threw to them from a distance. But the assault continued and evolved into man to man [or man to woman, if you like, as the 30% of the group of demonstrators were females] and while the demonstrators were unarmed the villagers were well equipped with spades, broaches and other misused agricultural instruments and tools. As a result sixty demonstrators were hit –ten of them badly and had to be admitted to the hospital. The police allowed these to happen with their absence, but also media and police distorted the facts, implying that the demonstrators started the incident, which is clearly not true and it is easily proved by the fact it happened on the exit of the group from the village –after the end of the demonstration, in the area where the coaches would have been parked. If their argument was true and the demonstrators started the upheaval, wouldn’t they do it inside the village while demonstrating?
The outrageous attack that lasted one and a half hours, suggests hatred against the group of young anarchists, that just wanted to show that not everyone is indifferent of crimes such rape and discrimination against immigrants.
Terminal 119 – for social and individual autonomy
In early November in Amarynthos a village in Evoia, Greece four Greek high school students raped a sixteen-year-old Bulgarian girl in the toilettes of the school and recorded it in video. The young girl did not only suffer physical abuse but psychological as well, as the local community had a biased stance to the incident making up their minds that it wasn’t rape. When reported to the police apparently they said; ‘What can we do now?’ The head-teacher expelled the male students but the girl as well (!). These actions suggest a certain discrimination against the young refugee. One could think ‘would it be the same if the girl was Greek? Actually not, as a similar case involving a Greek girl proves. The people of the village were annoyed that the young Bulgarian accused the boys of such a crime. Thus, they forced the girl and her mother away from the village. As if this was not enough the offended families of the boys and other over zealous villagers became violent to the mother of the girl outside the court where the case was heard.
Some people did not turn a blind eye; anarchists groups from Thessaloniki and Athens mainly, knew from the beginning that this rape would become their concern. On the 19th of November organised a demonstration in the village of one hundred people approximately. It was about taking responsibility for a society that enacts or remains silent over such crimes. They decided to demonstrate in the village and they did that in order to denounce the shared responsibility of the local society over the physical and psychological abuse of the young refugee. They went there to say: ‘Rapists are not from a special cast are everyday men’ and the locals responded ‘she got what she deserved’ admitting openly their identification with the offenders. The demonstrators heard more appalling remarks while there, but the villagers did not stop there. They orchestrated a vicious attack on them; they sent away the two coaches and when the demonstrators returned to the agreed meeting point in order to leave they attacked them using stones, bricks, pieces of marble that threw to them from a distance. But the assault continued and evolved into man to man [or man to woman, if you like, as the 30% of the group of demonstrators were females] and while the demonstrators were unarmed the villagers were well equipped with spades, broaches and other misused agricultural instruments and tools. As a result sixty demonstrators were hit –ten of them badly and had to be admitted to the hospital. The police allowed these to happen with their absence, but also media and police distorted the facts, implying that the demonstrators started the incident, which is clearly not true and it is easily proved by the fact it happened on the exit of the group from the village –after the end of the demonstration, in the area where the coaches would have been parked. If their argument was true and the demonstrators started the upheaval, wouldn’t they do it inside the village while demonstrating?
The outrageous attack that lasted one and a half hours, suggests hatred against the group of young anarchists, that just wanted to show that not everyone is indifferent of crimes such rape and discrimination against immigrants.
Terminal 119 – for social and individual autonomy
Terminal 119
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rape is common in Greece
18.12.2006 16:14
Vassilis Tsiatouras- it's time to condemn torture by security forces in Greece
the Police General in charge of instructing the Greek Police at the Police academy is known to my partner Tim Wilson who tells me he is an honourable man. But clearly, he now has a duty to speak out and condemn the routine use of rape in interrogation (it was threatend against the Mexican reportedrs detained and abused before the Olympics -no progress in the trial of their assailants! It was used against Afghans and Pakistanis - we now know the British MI6 had nothing to do with that, by the way: the Greek Courts have confirmed that MI6 was not involved, though there have been no press reports about it! As my experience predates Abu Ghraib, there is no way that the Greeks, in contrast to claims by Maria Pinou of the Torture rehabilitation Centre can claim Greek security operatives have been influenced by the bad habits of America!) and the use of rape by ordinary citizens who want to appear to be just as thuggish and as terrifying as the police!
Here is a biog of Tsiatouras. Make of it what you will. I hope one day, he will have the heart to speak out and do some good.
- Originating from the department of Ioannina, he is married and a father of two children, currently university students.
- He joined the Hellenic Gendarmerie Force, after succeeding in the year 1971.
- As a Deputy Officer, he was serving instructor at the Police Academies until the year 1976, when he entered the School of Police Officers.
- After graduating from the School of Police Officers in 1979, he served as an Officer on active duty and Head of Police Departments in Corinthia. From 1985 to 1999, he served at the Department of Robberies and Crimes against Human Life of the Attica Security Division, being Head of Department for many years.
- He was chosen for the establishment and manning of the Internal Affairs Service, where he headed the operations from the month of September 1999 to the month of March 2002.
- Afterwards, as a top-rank officer, he served with the rank of Police Brigadier General as Head of the Attica Security Division until the month of October 2004, when he was promoted to Police Major General and was placed at the position of Attica General Police Director.
- On 01-03-2006, he was promoted to the rank of Police Lieutenant General and was assigned with the duties of Police General Inspector of South Greece.
- In the course of his career, he received further training in the US on "searching the area of crime and investigating crime", and he has participated in international conferences, both in Greece and abroad, on the subjects of organized crime and the fight against corruption.
- Recommended by the Service, he took part as a speaker in scientific lectures and conferences, held at various institutions of higher education, developing subjects such as "homicide as a crime", "criminal behavior and organized crime".
- Moreover, he has taught at the School of Police Officers of the Hellenic Police Force, subjects related to security and questioning methods.
- He has received many Police medals and distinctions for his performance, he has enjoyed significant aknowledgement of his work and he has also been awarded with the medal of the "Police Cross" for a particularly distinguished act of excellence.
necati zontul