Bill to protect migrant minors
The practice of holding unaccompanied young asylum seekers in protective police custody will be abolished, the Migration Ministry said on Wednesday.
“We will move ahead with legislative changes to stop the practice of unaccompanied minors being kept in police custody, a system that started in 2001,” explained Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, adding that a bill will soon be tabled in Parliament “to formally end this practice” of children being held in police custody.
Up until now, upon arrival in Greece, all unaccompanied minors were detained in police precincts around the country for long periods of time, sometimes months, drawing the vehement condemnation of rights groups. Greece was also denounced on occasion by the European Court of Human Rights.
