Galery

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Inmates of several Greek prisons rebelled and refused to return to their cells in protest against the bill of the Ministry of Justice to create prisons with the highest security level.

The inmates of Korydallos, Corfu and Domokos prisons held protests but they were of short duration and without tension. At the same time, the prisoners released a note in which they oppose the creation of such prisons. The "Initiative for Prisoners’ Rights" states it will violently fight against the vote on this "degenerate" legal text.

According to the activists of the "Initiative for Prisoners’ Rights", the new type of prisons will be the same as the old one, "but they will be of type "D". This means that everyone who ends up in this prison will lose the rights he or she had to date. The prisoners in it will not be entitled either to a leave, a semi-open regime, or payment for work done. Their right to communicate with people outside the prison, through correspondence, phone calls and visits, will be restricted too. The creation of these prisons will put a tombstone on prisoners’ rights," stressed the organization.

"If someone thinks that these prisons will be like Alcatraz and Guantanamo prisons he is wrong. They will override the idea of ​​"re-education", the main point of which is that the prisoner loses only his or her freedom. All prisoners whom the prosecutor responsible for the implementation of penalties and the Ministry of Justice consider "dangerous for the security in the prison" can end up in this prison. In fact, this means that a prison inside the prison will be created, which will be a threat to every inmate who asserts his or her rights. "Especially now that prison conditions are extremely poor, inmates are crowded more than ever, medical and pharmaceutical support simply does not exist, food and heating are less than acceptable. This situation rejects in advance every thought of fighting for staying in prison with dignity," reads the message by the prisoners.

The organization will hold a protest "against the disciplinary-isolated prison, the cancelation of prisoners’ leaves and daily payment for work done, their semi-open regime and contacts with people outside the prison" in front of Athens University at 6:00 pm on Friday, 28 March.