Greece probes Pakistani’s death in police custody

ATHENS: Greek authorities on Friday were investigating the death of a migrant, reportedly a Pakistani, in police custody after pictures of the man’s bruised body appeared in online media.

Anti-fascist group Keerfa, which distributed the images, said 37-year-old delivery rider Mohamed Kamran Asik had been “tortured to death” inside an Athens police station after several days in detention.

The man’s nationality was not immediately disclosed but he was identified as Pakistani in media reports.

The police in a statement said Asik had been detained on September 18 after trying to break into a block of flats in the Athens district of Agios Panteleimon after pursuing a woman, and that he was already injured at the time and intoxicated.

While in custody, he smashed a bathroom sink and got into a minor incident with other detainees, the police said.

Asik’s family said the father of three, who had lived in Greece for the past 20 years, died on September 21 in a police detention area not covered by a camera.

Greece’s police minister Michalis Chrysohoidis on Friday said the police investigation would be supervised by the Greek ombudsman’s office “so that no shadows remain” over the case.

Greek police regularly face disciplinary procedures over alleged abuse that rarely result in punishment.

The Agios Panteleimon police station in Athens became notorious a decade ago for links to neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, which organised attacks on migrants in the area.