Trump’s reference to Greek prisons: More than half of the prisoners are foreigners

The peculiar notation made to our state and the characteristics of the prison population by US President Donald Trump during his code successful New York, successful the discourse of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, caused a sensation and debate.

As the US president said, “According to the Council of Europe, successful 2024 astir 50% of the prisoners successful German prisons were overseas nationals oregon immigrants. In Austria, the fig was 53%. In Greece, 54%. In Switzerland, 72%. When your prisons are filled with alleged asylum seekers who repay kindness with crime, it’s clip to extremity your failed experimentation successful unfastened borders. You indispensable extremity it now.”

But what is the information astir the “population” of detainees? Indeed, arsenic information from the Ministry of Citizen Protection shows, 55% of the prisoners successful Greek prisons (more than half) are foreigners. According to sources astatine Katehaki, these are chiefly Albanians, Algerians, Pakistanis, Turks, Georgians and Afghans.

Indicative is the nonfiction published by protothema.gr successful mid-September regarding the arrests of nationals and foreigners successful our state successful 2024 and their examination with those of 2022.

Specifically, successful 2022, 57,333 nationals and 54,212 foreigners were arrested for assorted offences. In 2024, the fig of nationals arrested jumped to 73,479. 16,146 much than successful 2022 (an summation of 29.78%). The fig of foreigners arrested successful 2024 was 57,150, 2,938 much than successful 2022.
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In numerical terms, determination were (approximately) 5,520 foreigners detained successful Greek prisons connected 31/01/2024. The full capableness of the 34 Greek prisons is 10,775 and their occupancy level connected the aforesaid day was 94.7%. At its highest successful 2014, the occupancy complaint had reached 116% to driblet to 89% successful 2016 and emergence to 93% successful 2018 and 102% successful 2020.

As noted successful the article, our state is fundamentally archetypal successful Europe successful the percent of overseas prisoners, arsenic those statistically up (Cyprus, Luxembourg, Monaco, etc.) person acold less prisoners. The Principality of Monaco does person a 93.5% complaint of overseas prisoners, but determination are lone 31 prisoners successful its prisons (i.e., 27-28 of the prisoners are foreigners).