Greece's new left-wing government to ease migrant detention rules

Published May 21, 2015

Greece's new left-wing government is promising to overhaul rules for detaining immigrants and close a facility near Athens, in response to criticism from human rights groups over conditions at the sites and the legality of their detention.

The Interior Ministry made the announcement Tuesday as protests continued at a detention camp in Amygdaleza, north of the capital, where a 28-year-old Pakistani man was found hanged last week.

The ministry said it would close the Amygdaleza camp and consider alternatives to detention. Migrants held for more than 18 months, the legal limit for custody, would be released, along with minors and others considered vulnerable.

Greece is a major transit European point for illegal immigration. The detention centers for migrants living in the country illegally were opened by the previous conservative government.

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