THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — In what began with the arrest of 25 trans women in Greece a year ago, stepped up harassment by the Greek police in recent months has resulted in condemnation from Members of the European Parliament (MEP).

Some MEP are saying Greek trans women are being aggressively pursued by police under the ‘pretext of ID verification.’  Some were forced to undergo HIV tests and most recently, a defense lawyer was detained.

While all those arrested have been cleared of charges by courts, these MEPs have approval to investigate the actions by the police. Further information on this is to follow.

MEP Raül Romeva i Rueda:  “Too often trans people remain easy victims: they are visible, and somehow thugs—including in police uniforms—think they have a license to harass anyone who doesn’t fit traditional gender appearances.”

MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld: “This is exactly why the European Union needs to include homophobic and transphobic hate speech and hate crime in its review of EU hate speech laws.” . . .

“The Parliament already asked for this repeatedly, but we hold no illusions about the intentions of the current European Commission. Nothing more will be achieved before the next EU elections next year.”

Greece: MEPs concerned by police harassing and arresting trans women | The European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

http://transgendersupportassociation.wordpress.com/2013/06/11/transgender-arrests-in-police-crackdowns-and-unlawful-detention-of-the-defenders-of-their-rights-in-thessaloniki-greece/

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THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT is associated with Wipe Out Transphobia: http://www.wipeouttransphobia.com/

Read Lexie Cannes in The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/

Categories: Discrimination, Equality, Civil Rights, Law Enforcement, Police, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans, Transphobia, exploitation, dehumanizing, violence, hate

Tags: European Commission, European Parliament, greece, greek police, Intergroup on LGBT Rights, Members of the European Parliament, Raul Romeva I Rueda, Sophie in ‘t Veld