EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The main objective of the November 2023 visit to Greece was to examine the treatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation. To this end, the CPT delegation visited a range of places of detention, including six of the seven pre-removal detention centres (PRDCs) and several police and border guard stations in different regions in the country. It also visited, for the first time, three “Closed Controlled access Centres” (CCACs) on the Aegean Islands of Lesvos, Kos and Samos. As regards cooperation, the CPT urges the Greek authorities to take concrete measures to implement the long-standing recommendations of the Committee. The findings of the 2023 ad hoc visit once again indicate that, despite some positive developments, the Greek authorities have not taken sufficient steps to address the serious structural deficiencies raised by the CPT in its previous visit reports. Concerted action is required to improve the conditions, regime and treatment of foreign nationals held in immigration detention centres. In the course of the visit, several credible and consistent allegations were received of deliberate physical ill-treatment of detained foreign nationals by police officers in certain police stations in Athens and in the PDRCs of Amygdaleza, Corinth and Tavros (Petrou Ralli). Allegations of ill-treatment by coast guard officials who intercepted small boats at sea were also heard. Several allegations concerned blows with batons and the butt of a rifle, as well as kicks, punches and slaps. There were also several allegations of verbal abuse, racist insults and aggressive behaviour by some police officers. The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to take more vigorous steps to end illtreatment of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty. Further, the management at Corinth PRDC should act to ensure that no foreign nationals are subjected to informal punishments. As regards safeguards against ill-treatment, the Greek authorities should review their approach towards the detention of foreign nationals under immigration detention to ensure that it is applied only as a measure of last resort in practice. The lack of interpretation services remains acute and most detained foreign nationals complained that they were not sufficiently informed of their rights and of their situation. All detained foreign nationals should be granted the safeguards against illtreatment as from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty. This includes access to free legal aid and the possibility to keep, or be granted regular and frequent access to, their own mobile phones. The conditions of detention in the police and border guard stations in the Evros region were generally acceptable for short stays, but unsuitable for holding children and families. Some police establishments and special holding facilities are still holding foreign nationals for up to several weeks or even several months in very poor conditions. For example, the conditions at at Drapetsona Police Station were appalling and the CPT once again urges the Greek authorities to take this facility out of service. Further, at Athens Airport special holding facility, 26 men were crammed into the nine small cells (each 9m2) for prolonged periods without ready access to the two toilets (which were broken) or any access to fresh air. Such conditions could be considered as amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment. Further, the detention of children at Athens Airport Special holding facility should be ended as the facility is totally unsuitable for their accommodation. The CPT found that most of the pre-removal detention centres visited do not provide an appropriate environment for holding foreign nationals for prolonged periods. The facilities were not appropriately adapted for the detention of foreign nationals. Many cells or rooms had broken doors, windows, heating systems and/or beds. In several centres sanitary facilities were in a poor state of maintenance and detained persons were usually not provided with detergent to clean their cells and received insufficient hygiene products to keep their clothes and themselves clean. One general complaint received in all detention centres that was also observe by the delegation was the lack of sufficient and suitable clothing adapted to the season. Much of the accommodation areas were infested with cockroaches and bed bugs. Several centres did not regularly provide heating and warm water. The conditions were particularly poor at Corinth PRDC where persons were being held for up to 18 months. The rows of barred cells at Tavros (Petrou Ralli) detention centre are only appropriate for holding persons for short periods (this is days not weeks or months). 3