“Prison for Papers”
Last Resort Measures Used as Standard Procedure
Researching Pre-Removal Detention Centres on Mainland Greece
FEBRUARY 2023
“Systematically depriving people on the move of their liberty in facilities characterised by appalling conditions and a general lack of access to basic rights forms part of a much broader tactic of deliberative rights abuses aimed at preventing migration flows into the country.
The utter lack of transparency or public access to detention centres in Greece fosters fertile grounds for rights abuses, where civil society organisation visits are infrequent and complaints mechanisms are virtually non-existent.”
- Manon Louis, Advocacy Officer at Mobile Info Team
“Prison for Papers” focuses on the detention of applicants of international protection and third country nationals subject to return orders who have been detained at some point between 2020 and 2022 in one of six Pre-removal Detention Centres (PRDCs) on mainland Greece. The report explored questions around access to asylum, legal procedures and detention conditions.
Our research highlights that particularly since the implementation of the International Protection Act in 2020 and the subsequent amendments (Law 4939/2022 and Law 3907/2011), the use of detention for people on the move has become systematic and embedded in Greek law. Testimonies indicate that the application of detention, both in terms of the reason and length of time that people are detained, is often arbitrary, and the excessive use of public order grounds results in asylum seekers being held for extensive periods of time. The additional lack of deportations taking place from PRDCs raises strong doubts regarding the proportionality and justification for the detention of third country nationals, consequently violating both Greek and EU law.
The conditions evidenced throughout the report indicate the appalling hygiene conditions, poor access to medical care, non-existence of recreational activities and extremely restricted access to information, legal services and translation. In addition, the carceral environments of PRDCs, coupled with dilapidated structures, dysfunctional facilities and a fundamental lack of access to medical care has a significant impact on both the physical health and the psychological wellbeing of detainees.
The detention of both people seeking asylum and third country nationals in view of removal in Greece is carried out in a disproportionate manner, and under distressing conditions which do not align with upholding the dignity of detainees. This report provides evidence that demonstrates that the conditions of detention centres in Greece do not meet international and European standards.
