The report highlights the systemic
overcrowding in three of the five psychiatric establishments visited
(Evangelismos, Gennimatas and Sotiria), with patients at Evangelismos being
accommodated in the corridors. In all five hospitals visited, the CPT is
critical of the lack of staff and over-reliance on pharmacotherapy, and the
fact that patients were offered few activities. Another concern is the
widespread practice of excessive and/or inappropriate use of mechanical
restraint. The CPT also received some isolated allegations of ill-treatment
(punches, tight restraints, and verbal abuse) by staff at the private “Athina
Vrilissa” Psychiatric Clinic. Further, at Korydallos Prison Psychiatric
Hospital, it found that the use of the basement protection cells for the
seclusion of patients without supervision and for extended periods could easily
be considered inhuman and degrading. Moreover, safeguards surrounding
involuntary placement procedures were found to be insufficient in law and
practice.
In their response, the Greek authorities
accepted most of CPT’s recommendations aimed at improving the situation in
psychiatric establishments. In particular, the new draft law governing
involuntary placement will increase the safeguards for psychiatric patients.
Swift action was taken to close down the basement protection cells at
Korydallos Prison Psychiatric Hospital. Moreover, an external supervisory body
will be established and a Committee be set up to monitor and evaluate the use
of means of restraint and medication in all psychiatric institutions in Greece.
As regards immigration detention,
the CPT stresses once again the need for a coordinated European approach to
address the high number of foreign nationals arriving in Greece. At the same
time, the report recalls that foreign nationals deprived of their liberty by
the Greek authorities must be treated humanely and with dignity.
In the course of the visit, the CPT
received a number of credible allegations of police ill-treatment (slaps,
punches, kicks, baton blows and verbal abuse) from foreign nationals held in
detention in the Evros region and at Moria Pre-removal Centre on Lesvos. It
also received several credible allegations about the occurrence of “push-back”
operations, whereby foreign nationals were returned from Greece to Turkey by
boat across the Evros River; some of the persons met alleged that they had been
ill-treated (including baton blows to the head) by police and border guard
officers or (para-) military commandos during such operations.
Conditions of detention were found to be
grossly sub-standard in some of the police and border guard stations visited,
such as at Isaakio, where foreign nationals were detained overnight in two
filthy cells with less than 1.5 m² of living space each. The Pre-removal Centre
in Fylakio was so severely overcrowded, that single men, families, children and
pregnant women were crammed together for several weeks or months with little
more than 1 m² of living space per person, a situation that can easily be
considered as amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment. The provision of
health care services also remained inadequate, with a chronic lack of health
care staff and an absence of even the most basic medical equipment and
medication.
Regrettably, the CPT had to reiterate its
recommendations that the Greek authorities increase significantly the number of
dedicated open (or semi-open) shelter facilities for unaccompanied minors and
that they fundamentally revise their policy regarding the detention of
unaccompanied minors both for reception and identification purposes and under
“protective custody”. The CPT recommends that an end should be put to holding
unaccompanied minors in reception and identification centres, pre-removal
centres, special holding facilities for irregular migrants or police and border
guard stations. The CPT also calls for an end to the routine detention of
children with their parents in police establishments upon their arrival in the
country.
In their response, the Greek authorities
deny that the practice of “push-backs” exists and point out that investigations
into alleged unofficial removals and police ill-treatment found no disciplinary
liability by the Hellenic Police. Further, the authorities explain that the
poor conditions of detention in the Evros region were due to the increased
migratory pressure at the time of the CPT’s visit. On a more positive note, the
authorities plan to refurbish police detention facilities used for holding
irregular migrants in line with CPT standards and to improve the conditions in
the eight pre-removal detention facilities in the country.
The main findings of the CPT are set out
in the executive summary of the report.
The CPT’s report and the Greek
authorities’ response have been made public at the request of the Greek
Government.
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