A/HRC/16/52/Add.4
police station just before the arrival of the Special Rapporteur. Since he is in Greece, he
already signed in three occasions the notice to leave the country within 30 days. However,
he was then always released in the streets. He assumes that the readmission agreement
between Greece and Turkey does not apply to migrants who are not held in the Evros area,
because of the cost to drive the migrants back to the Turkish border. He was therefore
feeling very confident about the fact that once back in Athens, police officers would not
send him to Turkey to be deported to Iraq, but would rather free him in the streets.
Detention Cells at Venizelos Airport, Athens
Visited on 16 and 19 October 2010
Wing for men
The Special Rapporteur was received by Chief of Police Giorgios Arkoumanis. The
detention facility comprises three sections where in a total of 103 detainees were kept. 88
detainees were kept in the first section, reserved for men who try to leave Greece with false
documents. 15 detainees are kept in the other sections, dedicated to political asylum
seekers, including Dublin II returnees, women and families.
In general, the conditions in the men’s cells are inhuman because of extreme overcrowding
which exceeded five times the capacity. During the debriefing the police officers admitted
that the detention facilities were inhuman because they were designed for 2 detainees each
and used by 10. They were never left out of their cells to exercise or breathe fresh air. The
authorities admitted that 2 toilets (and showers) for the 88 men and only one telephone are
not sufficient. The detainees were forced to regularly urinate in bottles. The officers had
asked for a 2nd phone for the men but had not received it. But the authorities insisted that
they did their best to accommodate the wishes of the detainees. The officers working there
are particularly sensitized but their working conditions are also inhuman. They said that
they cannot provide towels but that soap is provided. They provide proper food and take
care of religious restrictions. The cleaning is provided by cleaning services, but they cannot
give bleach to the women as requested by them.
This first wing comprises of nine cells numbered from 13 to 21. Within the cells, detainees
from all nationalities are mixed together and there is no effort to group them by culture,
language or citizenship. Most of the detainees have been caught trying to exit the country
with false documents. In principle, the cells are made for 2 detainees each, but for a long
time these cells are incredibly overcrowded. UNHCR told the Special Rapporteur they
could not even enter the cells because of the terrible conditions (up to 130 detainees). On
the day of the Special Rapporteur’s visit 88 detainees were being held..
There was a long corridor with 2 toilets and showers on one side (since toilets and showers
are together, one cannot use them separately, which means that showers can, in principle,
only be used during the nights) and 9 cells on the other side. On one end of the corridor
were desks where officers work and guard, and on the other end of the corridor the personal
belongings of the detainees were kept.
On the other side of the cells, there is an open corridor with a terrible smell as the detainees
throw bottles with urine and plastic backs used for defecation out of the cells because there
are not sufficient possibilities to use the 2 only toilets available. There is no open space
where the detainees could walk. They can only leave the cells for a few minutes in order to
go to the toilets, perhaps to take a shower or to use a public telephone in the corridor. Under
the criminal procedure code, they can only be detained here for up to 3 days, but in reality,
these detention facilities are used for administrative detention purposes. The punishment of
2 or 3 months for attempting to illegally leave Greece is only symbolic as they are in fact in
detention pending deportation. According to the officers they are not kept longer than 25
46
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents