The United Nations' refugee agency on Friday criticized plans in Greece to build a fence along part of its border with Turkey, warning that asylum seekers could face greater difficulty escaping persecution and conflict.
A UNHCR statement says "building walls seldom resolves the problem of immigration pressure." It urged Greece to speed up efforts to overhaul its asylum screening procedures.
Greek lawmakers began debating a new draft immigration law that includes asylum-system reforms and plans to use old army bases as prisons for detained immigrants.
Also Friday, a 46-year-old German newspaper reporter was detained briefly near the Greek-Turkish border. He was released after being charged with violating media-coverage rules in a military area, and his memory card with photographs was confiscated, police said.
AP
