Greece: Asylum seeking man found hanged at Piraeus port
March 27, 2017
Man carrying asylum application papers found dead close to a passenger ferry terminal in Greece’s biggest port.
A makeshift refugee camp in the port of Piraeus [File: EPA]
Greek authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of a man, believed to be a refugee, in the port of Piraeus.
The man, who was carrying asylum application papers, was found hanged early on Monday close to a passenger ferry terminal at Greece’s biggest port near the capital, Athens, the coastguard said.
A coastguard spokesperson said that the man had not yet been identified and an autopsy was pending.
Greek media, however, said that the man was a 25-year-old refugee from Syria, citing unnamed sources.
His identity could not be independently verified.
‘Vulnerable, in need of help’
An estimated 62,000 refugees and migrants are currently stranded in mainland Greece and its islands owing to a wave of European border closures and a controversial deal between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016.
Since then, tensions across Greece have often boiled over as the relocation process moves slowly, is applied inconsistently and fraught with particular difficulties, including refugees having to navigate a complex legal asylum system in foreign languages.
