Dear Mr.Kaminis!
Hereby, we have attached as follows, an article of
“SHEKULLI” newspaper in Albania, which describes a letter signed
by a group of prisoners at a Greek prison in Malandaions. In regard to
what they pretend is happening inside the walls of this prison, we
would appreciate if you consider it adequately.
The
prisoners: we are becoming criminals by force inside the walls of the
prison
Erjon,
the sender of this letter to the newspaper from the Greek prison, is
the eldest son of the Mukollari family, which lives at the village of
Lumalas of Korca town. He has a sister and a brother. Many years ago
he immigrated to Greece. According to his father he used to work at
farming and the money earned were send back to his family because of
the economical difficulties they faced. But, always according to him,
the boss for whom Erion worked was not behaving correctly about the
payment of the immigrants. One day the man was found killed and the
suspicions were turned over the immigrants. Erjon had argued a few
days ago with his boss in the presence of other people from the
village, because he was not paying him for the work done, thus the
prosecutor based to theses witnesses accused him as the criminal.
Under these conditions, he got arrested and by a Greek court of the
first grade he was condemned with 101 years in jail.
Erjon
never accepted the charges at the court hall. He didn’t have around
neither an attorney to defend him or any representative from the
diplomatic corp. When the case went up to the Appeal court according
to the young man, it was paid attention to the missing facts of the
court of the first grade, which favorite his position but didn’t
saved him from the sentence. Thus he was condemned with 21 years in
jail. After this, his family opened the process to an Albanian court
in Korca town. In cooperation with the Greek justice, it was secured
not only the file of charges but also the proper materials and facts
about the crime. The Albanian court of the first grade condemned him
for the charge of murder with 11 years in jail taking into
consideration the missing convenient facts. Erjon has been in a Greek
jail for 3 years now, and he hopes that one-day will be extradited to
the Albanian prisons.
At
a Greek prison in Malandaions, 9 Albanian prisoners report violence
and racism against them from the authorities. The sender of this
letter, inform that the prisoners ask the Albanian state to protect
their rights and complete their request to be extradited to Albanian
prisons for the rest of their conviction.
Among others, in this letter they say: we are a group of
Albanians that have been condemned for different penalties by the
Greek justice and now we expiate the sentences in the prison of
Malandainos in Greece. The insufferable life inside the prison
enforced us to communicate with the authorities of our country and
request to be transferred for the rest of our sentence in Albanian
prisons because we are becoming criminals by force. Our persecution
started to the Greek courts. For the same offences done either by the
Greeks, we are condemned with the maximum of penalty. At the court
hall we were felt abandoned because never happened to see any
representative from the diplomatic corps in Greece. In this prison
there are about 300 prisoners, out of which 100 are Albanians. The
sentences against the Albanians reach the maximum of penalties
compared to what is imposed to the other foreigner immigrants inside
the Greek prisons.
The
first question when we entered the prison was if we were Albanians.
When we confessed it, we were sending to a separate side of the
building prison with very difficult conditions of living compared to
the other parts, and have been under continuous and unfair way of
treatment; insulting, beating, unfair isolation. Our life here has
become like hell. We have asked for explanations to the prison’s
authorities for the fact of separation from the other prisoners and
they have answered that: “these are the orders from the Ministry of
Public Order, that you should be separated from the Greeks and the
prisoners of other nationalities”.
This
fact shows the extreme discrimination of the Albanians compare to all
the other foreigners. But among others, I would stressed out the
minimized permit ions for going out of the prison for the Albanians
prisoners, the days of labor which are converted with reduction of the
jail conviction”.
The
letter has been signed at the end of it by the condemners: Erion
Mukollari, I. Trimi, S. Qemali from Korca town, S. Ashimi from Tirana, N. Avdiaj and L.
Sherifi, I. Metani from Fieri, V. Muca from Pogradeci, A. Pojani from
Shkodra etc.
Looking
forward to reinforcing our collaboration,
PEOPLE’S
ADVOCATE
Ermir
DOBJANI
