A judge in Greece has ruled that a group of prisoners who escaped from jail last year committed no offence because they had been held in appalling conditions. The judge said that they were simply escaping humiliation. The ruling was made in November, but it’s only now been made public. Mark Lowen is in Athens.
Cramped, dirty and a breach of human rights—that was the view of the Greek judge about the prison where the 15 nationals had been held. The men were said to have been detained with others in a room of 15 m2 with one toilet and no water or bedding. Some had caught typhoid and had no access to medical care. Greece is the main entry point for illegal immigrants into Europe—over 80 per cent pass through the country. And human rights groups have frequently condemned the state of detention centres.
Long queues have formed in Havana outside embassies and the passport office after new legislation came into force allowing Cubans to travel abroad. Most Cubans will only need a valid passport and a visa to leave the communist-run island after more than five decades of severe restrictions. But the cost of applying for a visa is still high for the majority of Cubans—up to ten times the average monthly wage.
World News from the BBC
President Barack Obama says he’s now reviewing proposals to curb gun violence a month after the Connecticut school shooting where 20 children and six adults were killed by one gunman. President Obama said he’s studying proposals made by his Vice President Joe Biden. As Paul Adams reports from Washington: