“They give us one paper to sign. I don’t know what was written in that paper but they forced me to sign this paper.”
| Between February 2023 and June 2023 | Thessaloniki | Anonymous | 45.7908691, 15.9976521 | Detention and Reception Reports | Greece | Korinthos PRDC | Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC) | no | yes | no | no | no | no | Pakistan | Photographs taken, Verbal abuse, Harsh Language and Insults (Reference to Race, Reference to Gender, Reference to Ability, Reference to Sexuality) | Lack of Information on Rights, Overcrowding conditions, Lack of Translation, Lack of Access to Medical Care, Poor Quality/Quantity of Food and/or Water, Poor Hygiene Conditions, Lack of Access to Hot Water, Lack of Regular Access to Toilet Facilities, Lack of Artificial/Natural Light, Confiscation of devices, Fingerprints Taken, Lack of Psychological Support | 12 to 18 months |
The respondent, a man from Pakistan aged between 18-25, was apprehended in the first months of 2022 and subsequently detained in the Corinth Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC) for approximately 12 months. This was the second time the respondent had been detained; the first time was in 2017, when he was a minor. He noted that during the first apprehension and detention, the police had recorded his age as over 18 so that he could be detained as an adult: “When I was arrested in 2017 for the first time, the police wrote my age more than I was at that time.”
This testimony however, will detail the events of the respondent's second detention.
The respondent described how he was apprehended in Komotini in the first months of 2022 by what he referred to as “Greek police'' in blue uniforms. He stated that the reason he was arrested was because he did not have any legal documents. Following his arrest, the respondent was brought to a police station where he was held for two months before being relocated to Corinth PRDC. When asked to describe the conditions of the police station, the respondent replied that he only received one meal a day and the place was dirty. He further stated: “Whenever I want to go to the toilet I just call them because there isn't any toilet in the jail, at my side, so I have to call them to go to the toilet so they just become so angry, ‘why are you calling me again and again?’ I just want to go to the toilet and they [police] become very annoyed.” The respondent recalled that there were “many” people detained in the police station while he was kept there, some of which included Greek people. He further explained that he had his fingerprints and photograph taken while detained at the station and all of his personal belongings were confiscated until he was taken to Corinth.
When asked if he had been told about the asylum procedure at any point during his detainment, the respondent replied that he was aware of the asylum procedure already as he had been in Greece for six years, and when he asked to claim asylum they told him that he could not apply in the police station but could apply in Corinth PRDC. “It is a must and this process is very necessary. That's how I know that I should apply for asylum.”
Two months later, the respondent was reportedly brought from the police station to Corinth, “They were so rude with us when they took us to the detention centre.” He reported that the officers in the detention centre were wearing blue uniforms. The respondent then described that he applied for asylum at Corinth by giving his name to a man who wrote it on a piece of paper. The respondent recalled how he was provided with a translator for the procedure and also had an interview for his asylum claim, but has not been provided with any further information. “They take my interview but they didn’t answer, what should I do further.” When asked if he had been told how long he would be detained, the respondent reported that no one in the “prison” [detention centre] tells him when he asks, but he knows that people are usually released after 18 months.
The respondent reported that he was forced to sign papers that he did not understand while he was in the PRDC. “They give us one paper to sign. I don’t know what was written in that paper but they forced me to sign this paper.” Reportedly, the respondent did not have access to a lawyer and had never been informed of the possibility of obtaining free legal counsel while in detention. He further stated that he had never been informed of a system for making complaints regarding the treatment in detention,“once I tried to talk with a person but they never listened to us, you know? They never listened to us.”
When asked to describe the conditions of the detention centre, the respondent reported that the facility held 12 people per room and each person had access to a bed. There are reportedly no lights in the room, only in the hallway. He stated that he was able to charge his mobile device in the room where he was staying, but that there was no wifi available so he got data from his friends in order to use the internet. He also reported that sometimes if the officers see detainees using their phones, they may confiscate them, although he did not specify for how long.
The respondent described the hygiene standard as very poor in the detention centre, stating “They never give us any cleaning items for the cleanliness. We could not clean the room because we didn’t have brushes and mops. And also the place is really dirty, and we had a lot of cockroaches there… insects in our rooms.” The respondent described usually having access to cold showers for about three hours a day, and being expected to bring his own toiletries from outside, which he was unable to do, “we should bring from outside, they never give us.” He reported that there were not enough toilets in the facility for everyone detained.
The respondent then proceeded to describe the type of food he received in the detention centre. “Breakfast was better than lunch and dinner. For breakfast they gave us one croissant and one juice sometimes, and sometimes they gave us one sort of meal, like cake. Sometimes cake. But the lunch and the dinner was very bad, we don’t like to eat it, normally.” He reportedly received three meals a day which are tasteless and just a “boiled meal”.
The respondent explained that there had been many organised hunger strikes in protest of the dire conditions. There was one time in particular where they reportedly refused to eat for three days in protest of the limited water supply, but these actions were always ignored, “we didn't take the meals and sometimes we had a lot of issues but they never listened.”
The respondent reported that there was usually no daily doctor present at the detention centre, but when he was there,“he didn't do anything good for us.” He further explained, “when people get sick, they just write our names on a paper and after two or three days maybe we don't know after how many days, they will call us for the medical.” There is reportedly no translator present when people do manage to see the doctor, and there is no access to psychiatric support. He also stated that people are never taken to the hospital.
The respondent reported that there is no access to a library, an educational program or even a market in the detention centre, “Police ask us after some days that if you need or buy anything from the market they just write the name of those things and take them for us.” Reportedly no non-governmental organisations are present on site.
When asked if he is allowed to go outside and get fresh air and exercise, he replied that there are designated times, usually between nine and one in the morning and two to five in the evening where people can walk in a small area.
When asked about the police’s behaviour in the detention centre, the respondent stated that he was not beaten or tortured, but they did use bad language and harsh words towards him. He reportedly never witnessed any conflict between the people detained in the centre.