Army orders probe into beating of immigrants

Greece's army chief ordered a judicial investigation into the beating of a group of illegal immigrants by one of his commando teams on a small and uninhabited Aegean Sea islet, his spokesman said yesterday.

The investigation came after military investigators determined that a commando team on the rocky islet of Farmakonissi uninhabited except for a small army garrison on September 10 abused a group of 10 immigrants, six Palestinians and four Afghans.

"The army chief of staff has ordered the immediate replacement of the Farmakonissi garrison and an immediate judicial investigation to determine any administrative or criminal responsibilities," army spokesman Lt Col Ioannis Lazos said.

He did not say how big the army garrison or commando unit was, but reports said it also included a small number of conscripts who reported the beatings to their officers.

It was unclear how badly the immigrants were beaten, but the abuse took place after they landed on a beach from nearby Turkey. Farmakonissi is located near the Turkish coast east of the Greek island of Patmos.

Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos condemned what he called a "repulsive act" and said that those responsible "and their superiors" must be punished.

According to Lazos, an army medical team also went to Farmakonissi to examine the immigrants, who were then turned over to the coast guard and transferred to the Aegean Sea island of Leros.