amnesty international

Justice Minister Mihalis Kalogirou announced a "legislative improvement" of a controversial definition of rape included in a reformed penal code which the government introduced in Parliament this week, following an outcry by women's groups, Amnesty International and even female SYRIZA lawmakers.

Amnesty International has denounced the definition of rape included in a reformed penal code to be debated in Greece's Parliament on Thursday as "unacceptable." 
The group took issue with Article 336 of the code for its definition of rape, saying that it makes access to justice for victims of rape "even more difficult."

Amnesty International's Greek chapter on Monday reiterated its call for greater solidarity for refugees in a post on Twitter on Monday, a day after it projected the message "Humanity First" on the Acropolis Hill in a symbolic protest marking the third anniversary of the signing of a deal between the European Union and Turkey to curb undocumented migration. 

Anonymous-yet-celebrated UK-based street artist and activist Banksy is the subject of an exhibition organized by the City of Athens at the Technopolis cultural center, running from February 27 to March 26.

The Greek chapter of Amnesty International announced this week it is launching a campaign to revise article 336 of the country's penal code, changing the definition of rape from an act of coercion to one based on absence of consent for the sexual act.

Twenty human rights organizations - including Amnesty International, Oxfam, the Greek Council for Refugees, Oxfam and the local branch of Medecins Du Monde - have urged the Greek government and its European Union partners to ensure that all asylum seekers stranded on the Aegean islands are moved to suitable accommodation on the mainland or relocated to other EU countries as winter approaches.

The secretary-general of Amnesty International, Kumi Naidoo, has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, calling on him to take all necessary measures to improve living conditions at migrant reception centers on Lesvos, Samos and Chios.

A month after Kumi Naidoo took over at the helm of Amnesty International, the humanitarian organization's new secretary-general visited the refugee camps on the Greek island of Lesvos in the northeastern Aegean. In spite of his long experience in the struggle for human rights, the Durban-born Naidoo was shocked at the living conditions he encountered at the facilities.

Amnesty International's Secretary General, Kumi Naidoo (r), holds a child while talking with women refugees during his visit at the 'Melissa' network for migrant women in Athens on Friday.

Women in Greek migrant camps are too scared to leave their tents at night or use communal showers, and many pregnant women have to sleep on the floor in unsanitary conditions, Amnesty International said on Friday.

More than half of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece are women and children, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.