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Amnesty International says migrant rights in Austria violated

VIENNA — More than 1,000 people, including unaccompanied children, are camping in the open at Austria's main migrant collection center, just one example of massive human rights violations because of overcrowding, Amnesty International said Friday.

The rights watchdog also described inadequate conditions in the number of beds, health care, and other services, particularly for unaccompanied children, at the Traiskirchen center south of Vienna.

Members of the Amnesty team that visited the center Aug. 6 spoke of migrants seeking out shady areas of the center's grounds to escape relentless heat, and of showers without curtains shared by both sexes.

They said four doctors and three psychologists are responsible for the care of more than 4,000 people at Traiskirchen.

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"Showers for women were organized like a peep-show," Amnesty Austria head Heinz Patzelt said. "I am unspeakably angry."

He told reporters the conditions represent a failure to care for refugees fleeing wars, and violate UN conventions.

Associated Press