82 men were on the third day of their hunger strike. They were protesting against the appalling detention conditions, the lack of information regarding their rights,and the length of their detention. Some had already been in detention longer than three months. They didn’t know what would happen and for how long they would be detained. All African women in Feres were registered as Nigerian while some of them claimed to be of other nationalities. The women told us that they were in mixed detention until March. The detainees we met told us about sexual harassment among inmates, which lead to fights and arguments. Furthermore, the women reported that the police once entered the cell and beat some detainees. One woman »I can’t breathe since I’ve been detained here.« A.F., from Iran ■ »I had been asking for asylum since the very first day of my detention, but nobody would register my application. After two days in detention, they gave me a paper to sign, written in Greek, that I couldn’t understand. There were no interpreters. After one month, they transferred me to Venna. I realized that this was not another detention centre, but a place from where deportations took place. My fear was rising. I stopped eating in protest. Finally, an officer registered my asylum application and I was then sent back to Feres. I fainted and was brought to hospital. I did not accept tube feeding. The police officers were very angry, took me out of the hospital and four of them started beating me. After that, they said I tried to escape, to justify the signs on my body. I was brought to court and immediately after the trial I had my asylum interview. A woman told me to eat and after that I would be released within a week. Now it’s very cold. It’s -8° degrees and we are forced to sleep in the yard, since there’s no space available. For some days I was sleeping in the toilet, but now there’s no space. I haven’t slept for ten days. We are men, women and minors, all together. We are all sick. I can’t breathe since I’ve been detained here.« A.F. was released after five months. The lawyer challenged his detention twice before the court. He suffered severe respiratory problems in detention. He is an asylum seeker. His asylum claim was rejected at first instance and he appealed against the decision. 245 Interview with women; April 13, 2011 – Feres 246 F.A. from Nigeria; April 14, 2011 – Tychero 247 Demands of the hunger strikers in Greek: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzLLCPJMrNIEM2JiOW 12. Hunger strikes said they had beaten her on her chest and that she is still suffering from pain. »I haven’t been allowed to see a doctor«, she claimed. When we visited them on the April 13, 2011, there was no water supply in the cell. »We cannot clean the cell and the toilet if there’s no water. We don’t have any soap or hygiene products. It smells so bad, that we cannot sleep inside. The food is very bad and we receive no good medical treatment. Some of us are sick for days, but they don’t transfer us to the hospital!«.245 The food was served during our visit. Chicken with water and a few drops of tomato broth. Some of the women were barefoot and had no proper clothes. Among them, there was an unaccompanied minor. She told us she was afraid to tell the police her real age, as she risks being detained for longer. On the April 14 all women were transferred to Tychero because their cell in Feres was under renovation. Nobody really explained the reason of their transfer and they were very worried. One woman attempted to commit suicide. In Tychero they were all kept in mixed detention. »We have no space to sleep, where should I sleep? It’s so dirty in here«.246 Earlier that day, the police had transferred some minors and a few men who were held in this cell, to the other one, in order to receive the women from Feres. The cell was not cleaned beforehand. The water pipe had broken. The police called two plumbers to fix the problem. The cell was full of water from the leakage. After repairing the damage, the plumbers asked the police officers who were standing close to us what they should do with the water that had flooded the cell. One officer replied: »Let them drink it!« On the April 28, 2011, 12 detainees in Soufli went on a hunger strike, protesting against the inhumane detention conditions and demanding their immediate release. Among them were five Iranians, three Iraqis, two Syrians, one Turk and one Nigerian. Six of them were asylum seekers. They have been detained from ten days up to five months. The director of Soufli’s detention centre ordered the immediate transfer of five of them to the police station cell, which is often used as a disciplinary unit. Only seven continued with the hunger strike. Shortly after, one of them was released as he had reached the maximum detention period. The others were transferred to Fylakio.247 In total, QwYzktMjQ1NS00ZmRjLTgzNjMtNDU1YjE1MzU3YjQw&hl= en&authkey=CN-bgbAI&pli=1; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRbr2-sJv-o; http://omadadikigorwn.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-post.html#more