Witness to immigrant’s murder is beaten up by policemen in Greece

On Saturday December 10, 2011, a 33-year-old Kurd immigrant was beaten up by policemen of the Pyrgos Monofatsiou police department (Crete, Greece). Ahmed Salin has the “misfortune” to be the sole prosecution witness against the port police officers who in 2009 beaten to death Kurd immigrant Arivan Osman Aziz in Igoumenitsa.

On April 3, 2009, Ahmed Salin was arrested by the port police of Igoumenitsa together with two other Kurds and an Afghan because they didn’t have legal documents. Ahmed Salin denounces that after their arrest, the 4 immigrants were brutally beaten by 4 port police officers. Arivan Osman was transfered to hospital in a coma. He died some months later.
Ahmed Salin and the other two survivors testified and recognized the 4 port policemen involved in the murder of Arrivan Osman.

Lately Ahmed is living in Crete as a farm laborer, picking olives. He now has a green card and lives legally in Greece.

Past Saturday Ahmed Salin was in Pyrgos Monofatsiou and he has been beaten again, this time by local policemen notified by neighbors complaining about quarrels among immigrants.

Police officers realized that Ahmed is a prosecution witness, and this changed their attitude towards him. They started hitting him and other immigrants too. As Ahmed says the policemen beating him were not interested in the official document he was provided from a public hospital certifying his serious respiratory problem, as in the past he has undergone pneumonectomy.

Both Ahmed and another two wounded immigrants were brought to Charakas Health Center. Eventually Ahmed was released as there were not  charges against him.

Ahmed Salin is determined to testify on the murder case of Arrivan Osman. Now Ahmed Salin is the only witness after the “disappearance” of  the two other immigrants who were involved in the 2009 incident.

Back in 2009, port authorities had argued that the 29-year old was injured by himself, falling to the ground as he was trying to avoid arrest. The coroner who examined Arrivan’s corpse, stated that the injuries were caused by impact force, which meant that Arrivan hit violently the cement ground with his face.