Figures reported to ODIHR included 82 hate crimes. The number presented here excludes cases of hate speech and unlawful discrimination that do not fall within the OSCE definition of hate crime.
In 2015, five public prosecutors were appointed to the Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Patras and Heraklion to investigate hate crimes.
The Greek Helsinki Monitor reported a physical assault on a man of South Asian origin. The Racist Violence Recording network (RVRN) reported 27 physical assaults, of which three resulted in serious injuries; 45 incidents of threats; and three cases of damage to property. Victims were mostly of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, North African or Middle Eastern background.
The European Centre for Democracy Development reported 11 physical assaults, including two that caused serious injuries, one which also involved the use of a weapon, and including five assaults carried out by groups, two of which resulted in an injury and two that involved the use of a weapon. The Centre also reported one threat, one burglary and one incident of vandalism.
The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) and the Greek Helsinki Monitor reported an incident in which a teenage Roma boy was attacked and injured by a group of older students.
The Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Racist Violence Reporting Network (RVRN) reported a physical assault and two incidents of vandalism targeting Jewish cemeteries. The Greek Helsinki Monitor, the RVRN, the Kantor Center and the European Centre for Democracy Development reported two additional incidents of vandalism in which Holocaust memorials were vandalized with graffiti, one of which was also reported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The Kantor Center reported two additional incidents of graffiti.
The Greek Helsinki Monitor, the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association and the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe reported an arson attack on a mosque. The Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association and the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe reported the desecration of graves in a cemetery adjacent to a mosque on the same day as the arson attack. The Greek Helsinki Monitor also reported one incident of graffiti on the same mosque. SETA reported an additional arson attack on a mosque.
The Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN), the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association and the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe reported one incident of theft and vandalism targeting a Turkish political party. The Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association and the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe reported two additional incidents of damage to property belonging to Muslim organizations. The Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association reported one further incident of damage to property.
Jehovah's Witnesses – Greece reported two incidents of vandalism targeting places of worship.
The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) reported eight incidents of sexual assault, 48 physical assaults, two of which also targeted people with disabilities, one robbery and 131 threats. The RVRN and the European Centre for Democracy Development also reported an incident in which a transgender woman was insulted and shot at.
The European Centre for Democracy Development reported two further physical assaults, including one in which a group attacked a transgender person with a knife. The Greek Helsinki Monitor reported one assault on an activist.
The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) reported two physical assaults on people with disabilities, both of which also had homophobic motivation.
In its "Concluding observations on the twentieth to twenty-second periodic reports of Greece", the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended strengthening the use of anti-racism provisions, including through training for law enforcement and judicial officials. CERD further recommended strengthening the reporting and registration of hate crimes.
In his report following a mission to Greece, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance praised the establishment of a public prosecutor for racist crimes and of special police units. The Rapporteur also recommended that the mandates of police and prosecutors be expanded to include homophobic and transphobic hate crimes. The rapporteur further recommended the inclusion of language and citizenship among protected characteristics in Greek hate crime law and that prosecutors and judges be trained on the use of hate crime laws.
ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Greece have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.