Victim of racist attack arrested in hospital, released
A Pakistani man who fell victim to what appears to be a racially motived attack was released from a police precinct holding cell following reactions at his arrest while in hospital, Efimerida ton Syntakton has reported.
According to the newspaper, quoting the KEERFA anti-racism group, Zisan Elahi was attacked on February 1 by two men as he was heading home from work in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens. The assailants allegedly beat him in the face and torso with knuckle-dusters, shouting: “Leave our country. We will beat you wherever we find you.”
KEERFA told Efsyn that it believes the two men to be behind several attacks against migrant workers in the largely industrial town.
Elahi, meanwhile, was arrested last week for illegal entry into the country at the Attiko Hospital, where he was being treated for multiple injuries. He was taken to the nearby police precinct of Haidari and held pending deportation.
Efsyn reported that it contacted officers at the precinct who expressed their surprise at Elahi’s arrest while he was still in recovery.
Elahi, who appears in photographs released by KEERFA showing his injuries to be in his mid- to late 20s, was reportedly released on Monday, after the Greek Aliens’ Bureau suspended his deportation so that he could remain in the country for the duration of the investigation into the attack.
