KEERFA – UNITED AGAINST RACISM AND THE FASCIST THREAT
PAKISTANI COMMUNITY OF GREECE “UNITY”
Press Conference, Thursday 19/3, 2:30 p.m. at the Athens Bar Association
Decision of retaliatory revocation of asylum of Javied Aslam after 30 years of residence in Greece
The decision to revoke the asylum of Javed Aslam after 30 years of residence in Greece is a scandal. It is the third attempt at prosecution since 2006, when he was arrested in response to the complaint about the abductions of 28 Pakistanis by secret services in the context of the repression of the anti-war movement over Iraq. The Supreme Court acquitted Javied Aslam and rejected the authorities’ request for deportation. This was followed by the intervention of former minister N. Mitarakis in 2021, which also failed.
We are not surprised by how far the racist decline of a government goes that systematically covers up crimes such as Tempi, the wiretapping scandal, Pylos, and Violanta.
The attempt to silence the Pakistani Community of Greece “Unity” and deport its president—a key witness in the trial and final conviction of Golden Dawn—is a shameless opening to the far right, which is in any case represented within the government by Thanos Plevris.
This is an attack on everybody’s democratic freedoms and rights. This government targets solidarity with refugees because its priority is to support the dirtiest interventions—the genocide in Gaza and the war in Iran—that generate displacement. The government’s fury has recently been directed against defense lawyers of the survivors of the Chios shipwreck (D. Choulis), against journalists for questioning the government spokesperson (Ch. Avramidis). With an international warrant issued by the government, activist Tommy Olsen was arrested yesterday in Norway, and they are seeking his extradition to Greece.
We will proceed with all necessary measures, starting immediately with the filing of an appeal against this unjust decision.
We call on the parties of the democratic and left opposition, municipal councils, trade unions, student associations, and solidarity organizations to condemn the attempt to deport Javed Aslam.
Let us all be present in large numbers at the rally on the global day against racism, fascism, and war on Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m.
We continue collecting signatures on the statement of support: