KHAAR, July 28: Relatives of the 15 tribesmen detained in Greece under immigration rules, have urged the government and human rights organizations to make efforts for their release.

The 15 people, aged 18 to 22 years, were held by immigration authorities while attempting to enter Greece from Bulgaria early in June.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, relatives of the held tribesmen said that each of them had paid Rs1 million to a local agent for taking them to Europe where they had planned to seek political asylum and look for job.

They said the 15 men had left the Bajaur Agency with the agent and reached Russia from where they went to Bulgaria. They had reached the Greece border in the first week of June where they were held by the immigration authorities for entering the country illegally.

They said that one of the detained men had made a telephone call from Greece on June 16 and had told his family that they had been arrested in Greece and that they were being taken to a prison. He had also told the family that they would be presented in a court later, they said.

The families of the detained youth have been passing through very difficult days as none of them had contacted home since then, the relatives said, fearing that their life might be in danger. They appealed to the Pakistan government, Pakistan embassy in Greece and human rights organizations to take steps for securing release of the youth.