As the Greek parliament begins its debate on an immigration bill, 56 civil society organizations have issued a joint statement on the bill, accusing it of criminalizing their activities.
A plenary debate has begun in the Greek parliament on a draft law proposed by the Ministry of Immigration, which dozens of NGOs have accused of "targeting" their work and criminalizing solidarity in the country.
The draft law, which aims to promote policies of legal migration and counter migrant trafficking, calls for the aggravating circumstance to be added for those belonging to an NGO if they were to be found guilty of specific crimes.
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Details on the bill under debate
The draft law would introduce a minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of 50,000 euros for any employee of an NGO on the official registry of the immigration ministry found guilty of aiding and abetting any irregular entry or exit from the country of a migrant.
The draft law would also make the transportation of an undocumented migrant a felony punishable by imprisonment of ten years and a minimum fine of 60,000 euros. The registration on the ministry's NGO Registry is a requirement for any organisation wanting to work in reception facilities and other places on the country's islands.
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NGOs say measures meant to 'intimidate' them
In the statement, the 56 civil society organizations -- including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Greek Refugees Council, and Intersos Hellas -- called for the withdrawal of the draft law, claiming that the "provisions are intended to intimidate us".
"After five years of continuous recommendations by the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the UN to lift arbitrary restrictions on the operation of civil society organizations supporting refugees and migrants, the Ministry continues to target organizations it considers troublesome for the sole reason that they are doing their job," the signatories added.
In responding to the accusations, Immigration Minister Thanos Plevris claimed that the ministry is not criminalizing civil society organizations, but only those "traffickers of clandestine migrants," according to the ANA-MPA news agency.
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