Racism ‘entrenched’ in Greek police, says Amnesty International

An investigation by Amnesty International has found “entrenched racism, excessive use of force and deep-rooted impunity” in the Greek Police.

“Our investigation shows that the Golden Dawn debacle is only the tip of the iceberg,” said AI spokesperson Jezerca Tigani, referring to a previous probe into links between the police and the neofascist party.

The report referred to the death of an Albanian inmate in a prison in northern Greece last month, allegedly at the hands of prison guards, and to “a dramatic escalation in hate attacks against refugees and migrants.”

It called for reform of Greek law enforcement, including the creation of an independent police complaint mechanism to investigate claims of misconduct.