"For five days, I wasn’t eating or drinking. It is better for me to die, you are treating me like an animal"

A summarised version of this report is available on Detention Landscapes

 

The respondent is a Turkish national who was arrested in mid-2026. He was reportedly trying to reach Thessaloniki by bus from the Evros region when he was arrested. He was reportedly then taken to the Fylakio Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC), which he referred to as the “prison section” of Fylakio - to differentiate it from the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC). The respondent explained that he was detained in the PRDC for 45 days. He reported that, upon entry into the PRDC, all the personal belongings of detainees were confiscated, including their phones, except cash money. He added that his shoe laces were taken away from him and thrown in the trash. The respondent was reportedly not provided with any document while in the PRDC. He gave details about the internal organisation of the structure: “The section of the prison is very horrible inside. When we’re arrested, usually they divide us by nationality: Arabs and Afghan people do not stay for a long time, they are released to another section or another place. Turkish nationals usually stay more in Fylakio.”

 

The respondent described that he was detained in a room along with 60-70 other people, despite having a capacity of 30. He explained that detainees were given a very limited window of time to collect their meals during the day, with no alternative available if they missed it. He added that the building of Fylakio PRDC did not provide hot water, and detainees did not have other choice than taking cold showers. In addition, he explained that one bottle of shampoo was provided for every five persons. Calls were reportedly effectively impossible to make as only one out of the four payphones installed in the courtyard of the PRDC was operational and accessible for only one hour per day to the detainees. In addition, phone cards to use the phone could be bought from an external market up to twice a week, and calls were possible only provided that detainees knew their conversation partner’s number by heart.

 

The respondent explained that the room he was sleeping in was devoid of beds or mattresses, except when people were ill: “in that section there is not anything to sleep on, it is hard on the floor, there are no mattresses for us, you sleep on the ground, with no blanket sometimes, unless you are sick, then they give you a mattress.” He added that detainees were sleeping on cold cement ledges. 

He recalled a night when he severely injured himself sleeping in these conditions: “Once in the night I fell from this ‘bed’, I had panic attacks, I could not breathe. I had pain in my shoulder and arm - I thought I might have broken my arm or shoulder”. Despite shouting in pain, and in order to seek help from the centre’s administration, the respondent explained being able to consult the facility’s doctor only after two days, and was subsequently referred to the hospital. At the hospital, the doctor reportedly took care of the respondent’s injury and immobilised his arm, but did not give him any medical report.

 

The respondent explained that he was hoping to be transferred to another facility after this incident. However, he was taken back to Fylakio PRDC, and remained detained there for 20 more days. As a consequence, the respondent decided to start a hunger strike: “For five days, I wasn’t eating or drinking. It is better for me to die, you are treating me like an animal, you are making separation with other people. The police officer commander came with a translator, he told me to eat and drink. I said I will not until you treat me like a normal human. He said ok, we will try to send you to the normal section. There they started registration and giving me some documents.”

 

In the Fylakio RIC, the respondent was reportedly able to register his asylum application: “After I was transferred, I was very happy, I thought I would be free. They gave me some papers, a document saying I am applying for asylum. I was having hope again. [...] After 5 or 6 days, they called my name, I thought that was the final day, I am leaving. I went there [...] They put me in the car, drove for three hours to this place called Xanthi.”

 

The respondent was not given any explanation as to the reasons why he was transferred to another detention facility: “I am not a criminal, not doing anything bad. I do not understand what is my crime to be here.” 

 

He mentioned being advised by the asylum service and the psychologist within Xanthi PRDC to request explanations from the police in charge of the facility. However, his requests were reportedly not answered. The respondent described that after his demands to speak to the facility’s managers remained unanswered, he suggested writing a report that police officers could deliver to the management - this idea was reportedly received by the following comment: “Ask your God to help you”.

 

The respondent described detention conditions in Xanthi as similar to those in prisons. He explained sharing his room with another person - he clarified that some rooms have to be shared between 4-5 people -, and being detained in a section of the PRDC along with 60-70 others. He insisted on the unhygienic environment of the facility: “From morning until evening, I’m trying to clean my space”. He reported buying cleaning products himself and having to clean the bathroom and toilets each time before using them. He reported that hot water in his section was available only on Monday and Friday, for five hours, and described the heating system as dysfunctional: “At night it is very cold. [...] We have air conditioning but it is not always working, it does not function well. At night, it is not working at all. It is very cold inside.” He added that not all rooms were equipped with an air conditioner, that most of the air conditioners installed were not working and that only one remote was provided for the whole section he was detained in. The police were reportedly informed about the issue but did not react to solve it.

 

The respondent indicated that food was distributed once a day, in the afternoon between 2 and 3pm, and included breakfast, lunch and dinner all at once. He added that detainees were not provided with a fridge to preserve the distributed food, nor any kitchen equipment to cook by themselves. He explained that some detainees were buying this equipment from outside. The respondent also reported inadequate provision of healthcare services in the facility. He recalled an episode when he was denied access to the hospital by both the police and the facility’s doctor, despite the treatment given by the latter to treat his medical condition being inefficient.

 

In addition, despite being in his asylum procedures and having gone through his asylum interview while in Xanthi, the respondent reported feeling helpless in face of the lack of support in the facility, and described not managing to get support from NGOs.

 

Finally, the respondent described the psychological distress of detainees in Xanthi: “People are shouting, and the majority of people are depressed. They have so many problems, they want to fight, they are not happy being here.”

 

The respondent emphasised the hardship he was going through and his intention to stay away from any type of troubles:

 

“Here I don't talk to my family as my daughters are growing up, they understand what a prison is, I do not want them to see me here. [...] I have a family waiting for me, I do not want trouble.”