The respondent is a 44 year-old African woman who reported being apprehended with her teenage son at the Athens airport on charges of illegal entry. Upon arrest, the respondent was handcuffed by what she described as three male officers who were wearing black clothes. After that, the respondent reported being taken to a six-bed cell located within the Athens International Airport special holding facility. Reportedly, the respondent and her son stayed for four days at the airport holding facility, prior to being transferred to the Amygdaleza Pre-Removal Detention Centre (Amygdaleza PRDC). The respondent reported that her phone was confiscated during her detention at the holding facility, and returned upon transfer to Amygdaleza PRDC. She further reported that she was allowed access to her phone for limited periods of time at the airport holding facility, for instance to call family members. The respondent was not provided with an explanation for why her phone was confiscated.

During the detention at the airport, the respondent reported that communication with the authorities was difficult and she was not offered a translator or access to a lawyer. During this detention period, the respondent and her son were reportedly forced to sign documents written in a language that they could not understand. “Sometimes when you say, please, “I can't even read this”. They say “you can seek for someone there to explain for you”. So, it's very difficult for me”. [...] “Because they were giving me papers that were written in Arabic. I can't even read them”. The respondent’s son was reportedly also forced to sign documents despite not being able to understand their contents. The respondent added: “he didn't sign in front of me. He was called outside the room and told “come and sign here, sign here, sign here””.

After four days, the respondent and her son were transferred to the Amygdaleza PRDC where the respondent reported degrading living conditions. She specifically reported a lack of hot water and low quality of food provided to detainees, as well as poor hygiene in accommodation containers and outdoor areas within the detention facility. Reportedly, there was grass everywhere outside of the containers, the respondent was not given cleaning products and “even outside, there was no one who was cleaning the camp”. Detainees were provided with shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and bath soap. The respondent reported living in an enclosed area within the detention facility specifically for women and families. The respondent reported that although there was a doctor present at the PRDC, they were not able to provide her with the treatment she needed.