Anti-torture Committee again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee again calls on Greece to reform its immigration detention system and stop pushbacks.

In a report on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place from 21 November to 1 December 2023, published together with the response of the Greek authorities, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) once again urges the Greek authorities to improve the conditions in the country’s immigration detention facilities, and especially the newly-built and EU-funded centres on the Aegean islands, while ensuring that foreign nationals are treated both with dignity and humanity (see the executive summary of the report in English or in Greek).

The main objective of the November 2023 visit to Greece was to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation in pre-removal detention centres, in police and border guard stations and in the newly built Closed Controlled Access Centres on the Aegean Islands of Lesvos, Kos and Samos.

During the visit, the CPT again received several credible and consistent allegations of deliberate physical ill-treatment of detained foreign nationals by police officers in certain police stations in Athens and in the pre-removal detention centres of Amygdaleza, Corinth and Tavros (Petrou Ralli). Several persons also indicated that they were allegedly ill-treated by coast guard officials when intercepted at sea. Allegations mainly concerned blows with batons and the butt of a rifle, kicks, punches and slaps, as well as verbal abuse and racist insults. The Greek authorities must take more vigorous steps to end ill-treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty.

Further, foreign nationals continue to be held in poor conditions of detention. This is the case for several police stations which are inappropriate for stays exceeding 24 hours. In particular, Greek authorities should take Drapetsona Police Station out of service and end the detention of children at Athens Airport Special holding facility. The conditions in parts of these two facilities could be considered as amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment. The living conditions and treatment of foreign nationals held in pre-removal detention centres should be reviewed. For example, at the centre in Corinth, persons were being held in a state of forced idleness for periods of up to 18 months, in very poor material conditions, with the accommodation areas being poorly maintained, lacking hygiene and being infested with cockroaches and bed bugs. As a result of the catastrophic healthcare situation at this centre, an open tuberculosis infection had started spreading among large parts of the detained population.

The CPT is also critical of the new EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Centres on the Aegean Islands. At the time of the visit, these centres did not meet the basic reception and protection needs of applicants for international protection. A great number of persons remained there deprived of their liberty way beyond the time limits provided by law and without benefiting from the legal safeguards related to detention, including access to a lawyer and interpreters. The living conditions for many of the persons met by the CPT could only be described as inhuman and degrading, especially at the centres of Kos and Samos. For instance, in some accommodation areas, up to eight persons were accommodated in 10 m2 rooms many of whom had to sleep on the floor without even a mattress. Several containers or tent-accommodation were unfit for human habitation, with no functioning sanitary facilities, no electricity and no heating. Many foreign nationals did not even have winter clothing and shoes. All persons detained in a Closed Controlled Access Centre must be offered decent living conditions.

Further, the CPT considers that the excessive security and unnecessary barbed wire fencing make these centres unsuitable for accommodating children and persons in a situation of vulnerability. Large numbers of persons with special needs and vulnerabilities were being held without a proper assessment or medical screening upon arrival. The CPT delegation even received a few allegations from these persons that they were subjected to sexual violence or harassment by other foreign nationals. Steps should be taken to swiftly identify persons in a situation of vulnerability and improve access to healthcare and the quality of care. This will require significantly reinforcing the understaffed healthcare teams and preventing violence amongst persons accommodated in the Closed Controlled Access Centres. The Greek authorities should also end the detention of unaccompanied and separated children in these centres.

The CPT again received many consistent and credible allegations of informal, often violent, forcible removals of foreign nationals across the Evros river or at sea to Türkiye (pushbacks). This occurred without consideration of their individual circumstances, vulnerabilities or protection needs as well as the risk of ill-treatment when pushed back. The complaints received, some as recently as early November 2023, related to alleged pushback operations of foreign nationals, including unaccompanied and separated children. The report describes in detail two patterns that emerged relating to alleged pushbacks at land and at sea. For the Committee, there is sufficient information to conclude that violent pushbacks to Türkiye continue to take place. The focus must now be on ending violent, dangerous and illegal pushback operations across the land border and at sea. The Greek authorities must also carry out effective investigations into all complaints of such allegations.

In their response, the Greek authorities underline that the conditions of detention of foreign nationals in the country’s police stations and pre-removal detention centres are in line with international standards and that large-scale renovation works are being planned in three detention centres. They also provide information on the steps being taken to improve the conditions of detention for detained migrants in the Closed Controlled Access Centres and to increase capacity for registration and healthcare staffing levels. According to the Hellenic Police and the Hellenic Coast Guard, all officers are acting in full compliance with their international obligations, in particular the principle of non-refoulement and the protection of human life and dignity. (source: coe.int/ photo:freepik.com)

Comments

Post a Comment

Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer

Top Stories

Ombudsman inquiry on Commission President’s text messages is a wake-up call for EU

Image
The European Ombudsman inquiry into the Commission’s handling of a request for text messages between its President and the CEO of a pharmaceutical company is a wake-up call for all EU institutions about ensuring accountability in an era of instant messaging. One year after the initial request by a journalist, the Commission has still not clarified whether messages reported to concern major vaccine procurement deals exist and whether the public is entitled to see them. The Ombudsman had asked the Commission, in a finding of maladministration in January, to conduct a more thorough search for the text messages. The Commission’s recent response failed to say whether it had looked directly and correctly for the text messages and if not, why not. While the response recognised that work-related text messages can be EU documents, it reiterated that the Commission’s internal policy is, in effect, not to register text messages. The Ombudsman has closed  the inquiry  and upheld...
Read more

Daily Mail publisher wins case against ‘success fees’ paid to lawyers (ECtHR)

Image
Obligation on publisher of the Daily Mail to pay substantial “success fees" in defamation and breach of privacy cases was excessive. The case Associated Newspapers Limited v. the United Kingdom (application no. 37398/21) concerned the fact that Associated Newspapers Limited the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday had been obliged to pay extensive costs incurred by claimants who had successfully sued it in privacy and/or defamation proceedings following articles it had published in print or online in 2017 and 2019.  Since one of the claimants had entered into a conditional fee arrangement (CFA) with his legal representative, and both had taken out “after-the-event” (ATE) insurance, Associated Newspapers Limited had been liable not only for their base costs, but also for fee uplifts including the “success fee” in the CFA and for their ATE insurance premiums.  In Chamber judgment (12.11.2024) in the case, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that t...
Read more

ECtHR elects a new Vice-President of the Court and two new Section Presidents

Image
The European Court of Human Rights has elected on 23.9.2024 a new Vice-President of the Court – Judge Ivana Jelić (elected in respect of Montenegro). She will take up her duties on 1 November 2024.  The Court has also elected at the same date two new Section Presidents – Judges Lado Chanturia (elected in respect of Georgia) and Ioannis Ktistakis (elected in respect of Greece). They will also take up their duties on 1 November 2024. Ivana Jelić was born on 17 March 1975 in Podgorica, Montenegro and was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 12 July 2018. Lado Chanturia was born on 14 April 1963 in Tsalenjikha, Georgia, was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 8 January 2018 and is Vice-President of Section since 18 May 2023. Ioannis Ktistakis was born on 3 January 1971 in Thebes, Greece and was elected Judge of the European Court of Human Rights on 8 March 2021. (source/photo: echr.coe.int) Read more here
Read more

Intellectual property: the figurative sign consisting of the phrase ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’ in Russian and English cannot be registered as an EU trade mark

Image
In its Judgment in Case T-82/24 (Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine v EUIPO) (RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F**K YOURSELF) the General Court ruled that the figurative sign consisting of the phrase ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’ in Russian and English cannot be registered as an EU trade mark. That phrase, which has become a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, is not perceived as an indication of a commercial origin.  The Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) requests the General Court of the European Union to annul the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 1 st December 2023, which refused registration of the following figurative sign as an EU trade mark: ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’ That mark is a war cry uttered by the Ukrainian border guard on Snake Island on 24th February 2022, the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Registration was sou...
Read more

The banks Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse participated in a cartel in the sector for suprasovereign bonds, sovereign bonds and public agency bonds denominated in US dollars

Image
According to the Judgment of the General Court in Cases T-386/21 (Crédit agricole and Crédit agricole Corporate and Investment Bank v Commission) and T-406/21 (UBS Group and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) v Commission), the banks Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse participated in a cartel in the sector for suprasovereign bonds, sovereign bonds and public agency bonds denominated in US dollars (‘SSA Bonds’).  The General Court of the European Union confirms the Commission’s finding of an infringement and maintains the amount of the fines imposed in 2021. In 2018, the European Commission initiated proceedings for infringement of the competition rules involving Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Crédit agricole and Credit Suisse (now UBS Group [1] ).  In 2021, the Commission found that those banks had entered into an agreement on the secondary market for suprasovereign, sovereign and agency bonds denominated in dollars (SSA bonds). According to the Commission, traders employed by ...
Read more

European Ombudsman asks Commission to publish details of its handling of senior staff move to law firm

Image
The European Ombudsman has asked the European Commission to publish details about how it has handled the planned move by a former director in its competition department to the Brussels office of a US corporate law firm as a partner. Any restrictions that have been placed on the activities of the former director to mitigate potential conflicts of interest should be made public without delay, said the Ombudsman. She noted that public information about the move came from the law firm and gives the impression that the Commission has allowed a senior official to work for a company that anticipates major benefits from their inside knowledge.  The Ombudsman also noted that the Commission declined to give details about the individual’s professional experience despite the fact that the law firm itself has put out a press release detailing it. The Ombudsman has previously criticised a tendency in the EU administration to underestimate the potential negative effects of staff moves to th...
Read more

A national court is not required to apply a decision of its constitutional court that infringes EU law (ECJ)

Image
In its Judgment of 26.9.2024 in Case C-792/22 (Energotehnica) the Court of Justice ruled as regards the right to an effective remedy that a national court is not required to apply a decision of its constitutional court that infringes EU law. In such a case, the national court may not be penalised.  Following the death of an electrician by electrocution during a maintenance operation, an administrative procedure was initiated against his employer. At the same time, criminal proceedings for negligence and manslaughter were initiated against the supervisor. The victim’s next of kin also became civil parties to the criminal proceedings.  The administrative court hearing the dispute concluded that the present case did not involve an ‘accident at work’. It annulled the administrative penalties imposed on the employer. According to national legislation, as interpreted by the Romanian Constitutional Court, that administrative decision prevents the criminal court from reconsidering whe...
Read more