Authorities in Greece Leave Romani Family Homeless After Demolishing Their Home

22 February 2005

On February 7, 2005, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) sent a letter to Mr Costas Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece, expressing concern at the demolition of the home of a Romani family and their subsequent homelessness by Greek authorities and the imminent eviction of several other Romani families in Aghia Paraskevi, Greater Athens. The ERRC urged Greek authorities to bring to justice all persons culpable for violations of domestic and/or international law in connection the incident, to undertake all measures to ensure that the affected Romani family are provided with adequate alternate accommodation and due compensation for the loss of and/or damage to their property, as well as for physical harms and trauma incurred in the course of the events. Copies of the letter were sent to Mr Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Professor Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Greece's Minister of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization. The full text of the letter: