The conditions and access to basic services in Paranesi has fluctuated since 2013. For example, in 2016,
AITIMA visited the centre and found the conditions generally adequate, with recreational activities, worship
spaces and air conditioning or heating facilities provided.[192] In the same year, Human Rights Watch
published a report detailing the unsanitary conditions in Paranesti, where dirty blankets, bug and mosquito
infestations were prevalent.[120] A severe lack of hygiene and non-food items have been reported in
Paranesti.[121] At the end of 2018, there were no social workers, psychologists or doctors visiting the facility
at all,[122] resulting in a lack of medical screening taking place on admission, additionally leading to the
failure of age assessments being carried out.[123] 15 minors were detained in Paranesti PRDC throughout
2021,[124] yet this practice has been consistently reported since 2016.[125]
Hunger strikes have been frequently practised in Paranesti. In March 2015, 23 detainees began a hunger
strike in protest of the conditions of the facility, demanding release and documentation, which lasted until 8
April making it one of the longest hunger strikes in the history of detention centres in Greece.[126] The
authorities in the detention camp responded with intimidation and threats of relocation to other PRDCs in
the country.[127] In April 2020, as a response to the tense context of the COVID-19 pandemic and
subsequent temporary closure of the asylum system, as well as inedible food quality, 500-600 detainees
across six wings of Paranesti refused their meals.[128] The response by camp managers was extreme; people
were locked inside and the supply to the food market was cut off. Hours later, a riot squad was reportedly
brought in with OPKE (heavily armed units), and detainees were severely beaten.[129]
Pushbacks directly from the centre have been frequently recorded, whereby individuals were officially
released, and subsequently taken to the Evros border and forced back into Türkiye.[130] On the 23 April
2020, BVMN reported that a large group of people were taken from the centre, driven to the border in
coaches, tortured for a period of six hours using electric discharge weapons, water immersion and batons,
before being pushed back over the Evros river border to Türkiye.[131] The respondent who shared their
experience reported that this pushback mechanism from Paranesti PRDC had happened to around 400
people in the previous weeks.
CPT visits and Report Findings on Paranesti PRDC
In 2013, a CPT delegation visited Paranesti PRDC, alongside Xanthi, Amygdaleza, Fylakio and Tavros (Petrou
Ralli). At the time, the centre held 324 people, however, the delegation later found out that 17 minors and 50
adults had been moved two days prior to the visit.[132] The centre was also found to lack furniture such as
tables and chairs, rooms were cramped and overfilled with bunk beds accommodating up to 30 people per
room, and detainees had severely limited access to the outdoors, for just an hour to two hours a day.[133]
The report also noted the urgent need for the facility to be renovated, as mould and water leaks were
evident. The living space provided for detainees was also reported as below the 2m squared
recommendations. The delegation also observed that police officers openly carried batons inside Paranesti
accommodation areas, raising concerns with regard to the use or threat of violence.
Since 2013, there have been no CPT visits to Paranesti PRDC. Considering the recent reports of severe
violence after the hunger strikes, and extensive policy changes in terms of detention of asylum seekers and
third country nationals, this time period is concerning and the report is heavily outdated.
31