Javed Aslam is among 33 cases reviewed in the last two weeks. Who is Aslam, who recently urged Pakistanis in Greece to push for the legalization of cousin marriage?
The president of the Pakistani Community in Greece, Javed Aslam, is among those whose asylum is being revoked following a directive from the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, to review international protection cases.
On Monday morning, the Ministry published an update that, at first reading, appeared purely “technocratic” and focused on how many asylum revocations have been initiated in recent years and how much they have intensified, especially after instructions from Plevris.
According to the announcement, in the last two weeks alone, the asylum revocation process has been initiated for 33 third-country nationals from Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Iraq. Among those 33 individuals was Javed Aslam, according to Proto Thema.
During the procedure, a summons was sent by the Ministry’s Asylum Service informing Javed Aslam of the revocation of his refugee status and inviting him, within 15 working days as stipulated by law, to file any objections if he wishes. If and when he challenges the decision, then his case will be examined in the second instance.
The revocation of Javed Aslam’s international protection is part of the line that the ministry has been following recently under Plevris, including the revocation of the asylum status of a Palestinian who was seen celebrating the massacres of Hamas and taking a photo next to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
In fact, for this specific case, the European Jewish Union, in a letter, had expressed its thanks to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, and the Governor of the Asylum Service, Marios Kaleas.
Also among the 33 mentioned by the ministry is the 20-year-old Iraqi who had attacked a driver on the Athens metro and had resisted the police forces that arrested him in October.
Who is Javed Aslam?
Javed Aslam is a familiar figure who has appeared repeatedly on television shows, spoken about Pakistanis living in Greece, and commented on political choices and social issues, often provoking reactions.
According to his previous interview, Javed Aslam states that he has been in Greece for about 30 years, that he has studied political science, that he lives in Athens with his wife and adult daughter, and that he has served as the elected president of the Pakistani community in Greece “Unity” since 2005, representing, according to his statement, tens of thousands of Pakistanis.
He became especially prominent in 2019, when Dimitris Vitsas, then the Minister of Migration Policy for the ruling SYRIZA party, had promised citizenship to Pakistanis living in Greece.
Meanwhile, there are many times when he has provoked, even threatening that “immigrants also have hands and can raise them at some point to respond to the threats they receive.”
In his statements in 2021, he thanked the Greek State for the opening of the mosque in Votanikos, but noted, “I would like there to be a minaret, to show our existence. We are not invisible.”
In an interview last year, he even stated that as a Pakistani community, they are asking for one mosque for every 300-400 immigrants, with him claiming that 500,000 Muslims live in Greece, in other words, asking for the construction of more than 1,000 mosques.
More recently, he appeared on video discussing – with reference to a religious context – issues such as marriage between cousins and invoking Sharia as law that, in his opinion, should be applied even in Greece, without, however, having made any official request for such a thing.
Javed Aslam, however, has a history that has concerned Greek authorities and the judiciary, given the prosecution and charges brought against him in Pakistan.
After internal disputes and complaints in the Pakistani community, he himself filed a complaint regarding the kidnappings/disappearances of Pakistanis in Athens, and subsequently, in 2006, he was arrested due to an outstanding warrant and an extradition request from Pakistan to Greece on charges of being a migrant smuggler.
The Pakistani embassy in Greece has maintained an Interpol Red Notice for Javed Aslam on its website since 2015, which lists most-wanted persons. A few months later, the Greek judiciary unanimously rejected the Pakistani authorities’ request for the extradition of Javed Aslam, considering that the offense for which he is being sought is not substantiated.
Specifically, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Athens Appellate Prosecutor against the refusal to extradite him to Pakistan, as it ruled that the acts attributed to him fell within the framework of “fraudulent incitement to immigration” and were of a misdemeanor nature.
In May 2012, he was arrested again after a Pakistani arrest warrant was issued for the same case. However, he filed a request for political asylum, which was accepted.
From that point on, a confrontation with the Pakistani ambassador to Athens, Khaled Osman, began: arrests, sharp statements, and innuendos.
In August 2015, Javed Aslam was arrested again for insulting and resisting authority. At that time, he was found in a vehicle with license plates removed. At that time, Javed Aslam had even sued a police officer for a racist attack, and the police officer responded with a counter lawsuit.
In September 2015, he was arrested again, along with ten other members of the Pakistani Community in Athens, after protests to force the Pakistani ambassador out of Athens.
A few months later, following a lawsuit filed by the Pakistani consul in Athens for defamation, insult, and threat, Javed Aslam was arrested once again by police officers from the Syntagma Police Station.
The former Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, filed an application for annulment before the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens (March 2021), challenging the granting of asylum to Aslam. However, that effort did not ultimately reverse the situation.
What has changed now?
Plevris, according to the ministry’s materials, is alleged to have given a clear order to the services to reexamine cases involving criminal involvement “in any way”.
For the ministry, the revocation of Javed Aslam’s asylum status sends a message that the state will not tolerate “dual statuses.”
“It is one thing to protect the real refugee and another to keep persons who raise serious questions under protection,” ministry sources told Proto Thema.
Meanwhile, a separate source told Greek City Times that Javed Aslam is also being investigated for his role in operating illegal mosques in Athens, which, under the new Greek law, could be punished with the revocation of visas and deportation from Greece.
READ MORE: Europe Turns to Greek Defence Production As Demand Grows.