Eritreans who fled ‘helicopter’ torture to be sent back by EU
2015-10-11 21:01:06 Written by Miles Amoore Published in English Articles Read 2513 times-
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Many of the African migrants to Europe come from Eritrea, a one-party state since 1991, where torture is common in labour camps (Fabrizio Villa)
SURVIVORS of Eritrea’s labour camps recall few methods of torture with as much fear as the technique known as the “helicopter”.
Victims have their elbows and feet tied tightly together behind their backs, often with wire or plastic rope that makes their limbs bleed.
They are then strung from trees and dangle in the scorching sun. Gangrene sets in, resulting in amputations.
Eritrea is the third-largest source of migrants flooding Europe with more than 5,000 people fleeing their homeland every month.
Despite the country’s horrors, catalogued in United Nations reports, investigations by activists and court papers, European Union officials last week outlined plans to deport Eritreans seeking asylum in Europe back to Africa.
A plane carrying the first Eritrean refugees to be relocated within Europe left Rome on Friday for northern Sweden.
Not all the Eitreans who follow will be so fortunate. The EU is set to build reception centres
