Mpalothia Blog – Since October 2016, Mohamed A. has been in administrative detention at the police station on Lesbos and he is facing deportation since his political asylum applications have been rejected. Mohamed began a hunger strike on the 12th of December in order to be granted asylum and prevent his deportation to Turkey.
With the gradual deterioration of his health in the last few days, he was taken to Vostaneio Hospital of Mytilene where doctors judged that his admission for proper healthcare would be necessary. Mohamed was taken back to jail in order to collect his possessions with the reassurance that he would be taken back to hospital, but as soon as he got back to the jail the police kept him there and told him he would be taken back the next morning. When he got back to the hospital the next day, he was deceived into giving his consent for voluntary discharge after being told that he would be soon transferred to Athens. In spite of those promises, on December 12th, the chief of the local police department announced that Mohamed would be deported to Turkey via the processes determined by the E.U.- Turkey deal. Due to the insistence of people in solidarity and certain attorneys Mohamed was admitted to the hospital, where he was given an IV treatment for symptoms of exhaustion (dizzy, collapsed, blurry vision) . His hospitalization eventually led to the cancellation of his deportation to Turkey which unfortunately did not apply for the 10 immigrants deported back to Turkey this morning. While Mohamed is still in hospital the authorities are pressuring the doctors to sign his discharge in order to continue with his deportation. The authorities have also banned people in solidarity from visiting Mohamed, in complete disregard of the rules and regulations of the hospital.
By aiming to deport an immigrant hunger striker on the 32nd day of his hunger strike, the state and its servants are taking this totalitarianism a step further, since nothing similar has ever happened in the past for the obvious reason that the man’s life is in danger. These are the mechanisms of the state itself which could keep in captivity a 6 year-old child to take revenge against his parents, shut down events at public universities and torture thousands of immigrants daily in detention centers until their final deportation. A state which has the power to decide on the life and death of those who are no longer useful, those who are “too many”, those who resist.
We express our solidarity with all those subjected to the violence of separation, racism and exploitation. Our solidarity is with the hundreds of immigrants who have been deported and the thousands who remain captive inside the centers of detention, isolation and deportation. Our solidarity is with those who fight daily against the devaluation of human lives.
Read the full statement and a letter from Mohamed here