Διεθνής αντιπροσωπεία της Καταληψης Προσφυγικών στην Αθήνα μετέβη στις Βρυξέλες, όπου συμμετείχε σε δράσεις αλληλεγγύης. Πραγματοποίησε συνέντευξη Τύπου και ενημέρωσε το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο, ζητώντας την ακύρωση της ευρωπαϊκής χρηματοδότησης για την έξωσή τους, την προστασία των 400 κατοίκων και των δύο απεργών πείνας.
ΑΝΑΛΥΤΙΚΑ
Η αντιπροσωπεία Προσφυγικών στις Βρυξέλλες απαιτεί τη διακοπή του σχεδίου έξωσης που χρηματοδοτείται από την ΕΕ και την προστασία 400 κατοίκων και δύο απεργών πείνας
Μια διεθνής αντιπροσωπεία της Καταληψης Προσφυγικών στην Αθήνα μετέβη στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο στις Βρυξέλλες για να ζητήσει την ακύρωση της ευρωπαϊκής χρηματοδότησης για την έξωσή τους.
χθες, στο κέντρο των Βρυξελλών, πραγματοποιήθηκε συνέντευξη Τύπου που διοργάνωσαν η Κοινότητα Κατάληψης Προσφυγικών και η Επιτροπή Προώθησης και Υπεράσπισης της Κοινότητας και της συλλογικής της μνήμης. Πάνω από 30 παρευρισκομεν@, μεταξύ των οποίων δημοσιογράφοι από 5 διαφορετικές χώρες, συμμετείχαν και συζήτησαν τα σχέδια έξωσης του ελληνικού κράτους και τον αγώνα της Κοινότητας ενάντια σε αυτή την απειλή.
Στη συνέντευξη παρευρέθηκαν επίσης φίλ@ και συγγεν@ της Βελγίδας πολίτη SuzonDoppagne, η οποία συμμετέχει στην απεργία πείνας μέχρι θανάτου μαζί με τον σύντροφό Αριστοτέλη Χαντζή. Στη δήλωσή της, όταν ξεκίνησε την απεργία πείνας την 1η Μαΐου 2026, ανέφερε: «Ξεκινάω αυτή την απεργία πείνας μέχρι θανάτου με βάση τη συλλογική μας απόφαση ως Κοινότητα να φέρουμε αυτόν τον αγώνα μέχρι τέλους. Με σεβασμό στη ζωή και για την υπεράσπιση της Κοινότητας, των δομών της, των ανθρώπων της, των σχέσεών μας, της δικαιοσύνης και του ευρύτερου κοινωνικού μας οράματος.»
Η SuzonDoppagne βρίσκεται τώρα σε απεργία πείνας μέχρι θανάτου εδώ και 36 ημέρες, ο Αριστοτέλης Χαντζής εδώ και 121 ημέρες.
Τα τελευταία 16 χρόνια ύπαρξής της, η κοινότητα των καταληψιών στα Προσφυγικά έχει δημιουργήσει μια αυτοοργανωμένη και κοινοτική ζωή για πάνω από 400 ανθρώπους από 27 διαφορετικές χώρες, που ζουν στα Προσφυγικά με βάση τις αρχέςτης ισότητας, της οριζοντιότητας και της άμεσης δημοκρατίας. 22 αυτόνομες δομέςκαλύπτουν τις ανάγκες της Κοινότητας και των υπόλοιπων κατοίκων της Αθήνας, όπωςμια δομή παιδιών, ένας συλλογικός χώρος κουζινας και καφέ, έναν φούρνο, μια δομήφιλοξενίας καρκινοπαθών και συγγενών τους, μια δομή υγείας και κοινωνικούφαρμακείου, μια τεχνική δομή, μια δομή λογιστικών και άλλες.
Από τις 2 έως τις 5 Ιουνίου, μια αντιπροσωπεία από την Κοινότητα Καταληψίας Προσφυγικών, συνοδευόμενη από τα μέλη της οικογένειας της Suzon Doppagne, ταξίδεψε στο Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο στις Βρυξέλλες για να ζητήσει την ακύρωση της ευρωπαϊκής χρηματοδότησης για την προγραμματισμένη έξωση της Κοινότητας. Εκτός από συζητήσεις με διάφορ@ ευρωβουλευτ@, πραγματοποιήθηκε διεθνής διαμαρτυρία στις 3 Ιουνίου με πάνω από 250 συμμετέχοντ@ από 6 διαφορετικές χώρες.
Στη συνέντευξη Τύπου, ο δικηγόρος και μέλος της Επιτροπής Προώθησης και Υπεράσπισης της Κοινότητας και της συλλογικής της μνήμης, Νίκος Κολοκοτρώνης, περιέγραψε ότι είχαν αρκετές συναντήσεις με ευρωβουλευτές από διαφορετικά κόμματα, όλοι από τους οποίους δεσμεύτηκαν να υποστηρίξουν την Κοινότητα και τον αγώνα τους για δικαιοσύνη. Αυτό θα περιλαμβάνει την υποβολή ερωτήσεων προς το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο, μια κοινή ανακοίνωση υποστήριξης της Κοινότητας και την προτεραιοποίηση αυτού του αγώνα λόγω του επείγοντος χαρακτήρα της απεργίας πείνας.
Τον Ιούνιο του 2025, η Περιφέρεια Αττικής ενέκρινε μια προγραμματική σύμβαση για την «αποκατάσταση» και εκκενωση των Προσφυγικών. Το έργο αναμένεται να λάβει περίπου 15 εκατομμύρια ευρώ σε χρηματοδότηση από ευρωπαϊκά δημόσια κονδύλια.
Η Όλγα Νάσση, μέλος της Επιτροπής Προώθησης και Υπεράσπισης της Κοινότητας Καταληψίας Προσφυγικών, εξήγησε ότι «γι’ αυτό ζήτησαν κονδύλια από το ΕΣΠΑ και Ταμεία Κοινωνικής Συνοχής από την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή. Ο αρμόδιος από αυτήν την Επιτροπή, κ. Παναγιώτης Παγκασιάτης, έδωσε στις 6 Φεβρουαρίου την έγκριση να χρησιμοποιηθούν αυτά τα κονδύλια για την ανακαίνιση κτιρίων, περιγράφοντάς τα ως αδεια. Αυτό είναι μια τεράστια παρατυπία, διότι παραβιάζει τις αρχές της εταιρικής σχέσης, τον Ευρωπαϊκό Χάρτη Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων και τη χρήση των κονδυλίων κοινωνικής συνοχής. Απλώς λένε ψέματα για να εκτοπίσουν και να εξευγενίσουν έναν χώρο στο κέντρο της Αθήνας».
Επιπλέον δήλωσε ότι «τα Προσφυγικά είναι το μοναδικό παράδειγμα κοινωνικής κατοικίας στην Ελλάδα, μια χώρα όπου η πλειονότητα του πληθυσμού ξοδεύει το 80% του εισοδήματός της για στεγαστικό κόστος. Επομένως, δεν είναι μόνο ένας αγώνας για την Κοινότητα, αλλά ένας αγώνας για τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα, για το δικαίωμα στη στέγη, και είναι ένας πολύ ισχυρός πολιτικός αγώνας που πρέπει όλ@ μαζί να υποστηρίξουμε».
Την τελευταία τους ημέρα, η αντιπροσωπεία θα συναντήσει διάφορες οργανώσεις της κοινωνίας των πολιτών πριν επιστρέψει στην Αθήνα.
Τον Φεβρουάριο του 2026, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή αποδέσμευσε κονδύλια συνοχής για την Περιφέρεια Αττικής με σκοπό την ανάπτυξη «προσιτής κατοικίας» στο συγκρότημα των Προσφυγικών στην Αθήνα. Ωστόσο, η έγκριση αυτή βασίζεται σε μια σοβαρή παρατυπία: επίσημα έγγραφα κατατάσσουν ψευδώς τα κτίρια ως «κενά». Με τη διαγραφή των κατοίκων από τα χαρτιά, οι αρχές παρέκαμψαν την Αρχή της Εταιρικής Σχέσης, αποφεύγοντας την υποχρεωτική διαβούλευση με όσους επηρεάζονται άμεσα. Στην πραγματικότητα, τα Προσφυγικά δεν αποτελούν έναν άδειο χώρο, αλλά μια ζωντανή κοινότητα και το μοναδικό υφιστάμενο παράδειγμα κοινωνικής στέγασης στην Ελλάδα. Ο Νάσσης υπογραμμίζει ότι ο νόμος δεν μπορεί να εφαρμόζεται *à la carte*, επισημαίνοντας ότι ευρωπαϊκοί πόροι που προορίζονται για την κοινωνική ένταξη χρησιμοποιούνται αντίθετα για τη χρηματοδότηση αναγκαστικών εξώσεων και την προώθηση του εξευγενισμού του κέντρου της Αθήνας. Αυτή η μεθοδευμένη παραποίηση της πραγματικότητας, με στόχο να δικαιολογηθεί ο εκτοπισμός των κατοίκων, έχει θέσει ανθρώπινες ζωές σε άμεσο κίνδυνο.
Prosfygika Delegation in Brussels demands Halt to the EU funded Eviction Plan and Protection of 400 Residents and two Hunger Strikers
An international delegation of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika in Athens went to the European Parliament in Brussels to demand the cancellation of the EU funding for itseviction.
Brussels, 5.6.26. Yesterday, in central Brussels, the Community of Squatted Prosfygikaand its Committee for the Promotion and Defense of the Community and its CollectiveMemory held a press conference attended by over 30 people, including journalists fromfive countries, to discuss the Greek State’s eviction plans and the community’s response.Present at the conference were also friends and family members of the Belgian citizenSuzon Doppagne, who joined her companion Aristotelis Chantzis in Hunger Strike untildeath. In her statement announcing her Hunger Strike, at its start on May first, 2026, shedeclared: “I begin this Hunger Strike until death based on our collective decision as acommunity to carry this struggle through to the end. With respect for life and in defense ofthe community, its structures, its people, its relationships, justice, and our broader socialvision.” Suzon Doppagne is now since 36 days in Hunger Strike until death, AristotelisChantzis since 121 days.
Over 16 years, the Community of Squatted Prosfygika has built a self-organized andcommunal life for over 400 people from over 27 countries who are living in Prosfygika onthe principles of equality, horizontal and direct democracy. 22 autonomous structurescovering the needs of the Community and the broader districts, like a children structure, acollective kitchen and café, a bakery, a hosting structure for cancer patiens and theirrelatives, a health structure and social pharmacy, a technical structure, a logistic structureand others.
From 2nd to 5th of June, a delegation from the Community of Squatted Prosfygika,accompanied by the family members of Suzon Doppagne, travelled to the EuropeanParliament in Brussels to demand the cancellation of the EU funding for the plannedeviction of the Community. Next to discussions with different Members of the EuropeanParliament, an international protest took place on June 3rd with participants from over 6different countries.
In the press conference, the lawyer and member of the Committee for the Promotion andDefense of the Community and its collective Memory, Nikos Kolokotronis described that
they had several meetings with members of the European Parliament from differentparties, in which all of them committed to support the community and their struggle forjustice. This will include the submission of questions to the European Parliament, acommon announcement of their support for the Community and the priorization of this
struggle, due to the urgency that the Hunger Strike demands.In June 2025, the Regional Government of Attica approved a programmatic agreement forthe “restoration” and evacuation of Prosfygika. The project, expected to receiveapproximately 15 million euros in funding through European public money.In February 2026, the European Commission unlocked cohesion funds for the AtticaRegion to develop “affordable housing” at the Prosfygika complex in Athens. Olga Nassis,a participant of the delegation, stated that “this approval relies on a severe irregularity:official documents falsely classify the buildings as “vacant.” By erasing the residents onpaper, authorities have circumvented the Partnership Principle, dodging the mandatoryrequirement to consult those affected. In reality, Prosfygika is not an empty space, but avibrant community and the only existing model of social housing in Greece. ” Nassisstresses that the law cannot be applied *à la carte*, pointing out that EU resourcesintended for social inclusion are instead being weaponized to bankroll forced evictions andgentrify central Athens. This manipulation to justify displacement has put lives at extremerisk.Furthermore, she states “that Prosfygika is the only example of social housing in Greece, acountry where the majority of the population is paying 80 % of their income for housingcosts. So it is not only a fight for the community, it is a fight for human rights, the right tohousing, and it is a very strong political struggle that we have to support all together.”On their last day, the delegation will meet different organizations of the civil society beforethey return to Athens.
Background Information according due to the Press release
Background
In the heart of Athens, a living community is under attack. Prosfygika, a historic refugee housing complex built in 1933 to accommodate refugees from Asia Minor, is today home to more than 400 residents, including refugees, migrants, elderly people, individuals with chronic health conditions, low-income families, women, and more than 50 children.
Over the past fifteen years, residents and solidarity networks have collectively restored and inhabited buildings that the Greek state had deliberately left to deteriorate, transforming Prosfygika into one of the largest self-organized communities in Greece. Through systems of mutual aid and collective self-organization, the community has created 22 social structures dedicated to food distribution, healthcare, childcare, education, and women’s support.
These structures include healthcare facilities, accommodation for cancer patients and their companions, a social pharmacy, childcare spaces, a library, workshops, and solidarity kitchens. Today, Prosfygika stands as a vital social and political space in the center of Athens, providing protection, dignity, housing, and collective care to people facing displacement, poverty, exclusion, and marginalization.
This living community is now under threat following a highly irresponsible eviction order announced by the Greek state and the Attica Region last December. Residents are strongly resisting the destruction of their homes and community.
The Illegal Erasure of a Living Community
On June 6, 2025, the Regional Committee of the Region of Attica adopted Decision No. 864/2025 approving the Programmatic Cultural Development Agreement for the “Restoration of Four Housing Blocks of Prosfygika on Alexandras Avenue for Social Housing Use.” The agreement has also been approved by the Greek Ministry of Culture and, initially, by the Public Employment Service (DYPA). Although DYPA has since withdrawn from the project, recent statements by the Region of Attica indicate that it will now be financed through regional resources and European Partnership Agreement funds (2021–2027).
This agreement falsely and intentionally describes the buildings as “vacant”. Because the Region of Attica’s only official document fails to acknowledge the presence of any of the hundreds of residents, the plan is to evacuate the historic neighborhood of Prosfygika and dismantle an existing self-organized social housing community that has thrived for nearly 20 years. In any case, the plan for forced evictions and evacuation has been openly outlined by officials of the Region of Attica in the Greek media, as well as by the representative of the Greek Government, Mr. P. Marinakis.
The above decision and the approved agreement blatantly violate Greek and European legislation, as well as international human rights protections. Most critically, they strike at the very core of the right to housing, the protection of residents, and the safeguarding of a historic monument and its living community. Furthermore, this agreement is illegal and cannot proceed due to the following critical legal and procedural breaches:
- Unresolved issues regarding the legality of the ownership status of the buildings.
- Substantial, unauthorized changes to the original agreement and funding structure.
- Alleged irregularities concerning Regional NSRF funding procedures. Blatant incompatibility between the approved project and the officially approved restoration study of 2018.
- The absolute necessity to protect the historical and architectural character of the Prosfygika complex, officially recognized as a protected modern monument due to its Bauhaus architecture and its role in the modern history of Greece.
Urgent Humanitarian
Crisis We are facing an urgent humanitarian crisis. Two residents of Prosfygika and members if the community, Aristotelis Chantzis and Suzon Doppagne, have been on a hunger strike until death since the 5th of February and the 1st of May, respectively. The medical team supporting them describes their condition as critical. Both are putting their bodies on the line to defend the human rights and the lives of the more than 400 residents of Prosfygika, defending life itself.
“A hunger strike is a form of protest in which the striker decides to put their health and very life at risk to highlight an issue that is a matter of life and death … it is not enough simply to have just demands in a general and vague sense; but there must also be a flagrant injustice being committed by the institutions.”
(Aristoteles Chantiz, May, 2026) The planned eviction of the Prosfygika community raises serious concerns regarding violations of Greek, European, and international law, as well as multiple international human rights conventions. According to residents and supporting legal experts, the threatened displacement of hundreds of vulnerable people would constitute violations of:
- The right to adequate housing;
- The inviolability of the home;
- The right to a fair trial;
- The principle of equality and non-discrimination;
- The right to human dignity and personal development
The demands of the Hunger-striker, which also express the main demands of the Community, are:
- The immediate revocation of Decision No. 864/6-6-2025 of the Region of Attica and the cancellation of the approved Programmatic Agreement.
- The guarantee that all residents of the Community of Prosfygika will remain in their homes, in the neighborhood where they live and have established social, cultural, and organic ties.
- Concrete guarantees that the restoration of Prosfygika will be carried out by the non-profit civil law company created by the Community and the residents under the name “Residents and Friends of Prosfygika Alexandras Av.” using its own funding. We demand that not a single euro of public money be exploited for the so-called “rehabilitation” of Prosfygika!
Widespread Solidarity vs. Institutional Silence
The residents and the Community of Prosfygika, together with supporting organisations, have carried out multiple interventions and public actions in response. We have submitted an official complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. We have also formally requested an urgent hearing and dialogue regarding the revocation of the decision through a special Regional Council session, which has been categorically denied to us. Representatives of the community, architects, engineers, lawyers, professors, academics, and other experts have repeatedly attended council meetings and publicly challenged the legality, funding structure, ownership claims, and technical basis of the project.
Several external actors have also intervened to support the Community of Prosfygika. Amnasty International Greece has publicly called on the Region of Attica to freeze its plans that could lead to evictions and violate human rights until proper safeguards are established. The Athens City Council adopted a resolution calling for the suspension of redevelopment procedures, public consultation, transparency regarding studies and uses, and the protection of current residents. Other municipalities, unions, organizations, hundreds of artists and academics, as well as thousands of supporters have publicly expressed solidarity with the community and demanded the withdrawal of the regional decision. Furthermore, four parliamentary questions have already been submitted to the Greek Parliament, among them one (Prot. 817, 30/04/2026) urging the Greek government to implement strict controls on the transparent use of EU funds and demanding mandatory ex-ante consultation with the directly affected residents. In addition, the Human Rights Centre of the University of Padua has opened a formal case study on the matter.
Despite this overwhelming mobilization, the Region of Attica has so far refused repeatedrequests by residents and supporting organisations to place the issue on the agenda ofthe Regional Council for discussion. During the Regional Council session on the 27th ofApril 2026, the President of the Council stated that the regional administration consideredthe matter already decided and saw no reason for any discussion, completely dismissingthe voices of thousands of citizens and international observers.
For almost 120 days, Aristotelis Chantzis, a resident and member of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika in Athens, has carried out a hunger strike until death in defense of the community and against its planned eviction. His struggle is rooted in the defense of life, dignity, solidarity, and the conviction that another form of collective social existence is possible.
On May 1st, a second resident and member of the Prosfygika community, Suzon Doppagne, joined the hunger strike in solidarity with Aristotelis Chantzis and with the shared goal of preventing the destruction and evacuation of the neighborhood.
Internationalists Save Prosfygika
Mail: [email protected]
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