98 North African immigrants on hunger strike hospitalized in Greece

98 North African immigrants on hunger strike hospitalized in Greece

2011-03-03 23:13:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

ATHENS (BNO NEWS) -- At least 98 North African illegal immigrants were hospitalized on Thursday after being on a hunger strike to demand residence permits in Greece.

According to an immigrant support association in Athens, 81 people, mostly men, from one group of 240 hunger-striking immigrants were suffering from severe health issues, such as kidney and heart problems. Another 50 immigrants in the northern port city of Thessaloniki have also gone on hunger strike, with 17 hospitalized there, the DPA news agency reported.

On January 25, immigrants, who are mostly from North Africa, began a hunger strike at the Law School of Athens University to pressure the government to grant them residence permits. The immigrants are currently living in a private property in the city centre, after being forced off the school's premises in January.

Greece is struggling to contain a wave of illegal immigration. Human rights organizations calculate that there are around 500,000 illegal immigrants currently living in the country, which has been repeatedly criticized for being one of the European Union countries that grants the smallest number of asylum pleas.

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