The respondent reported arriving in Crete in July 2025 and was subjected to the unlawful suspension of asylum applications, implemented by the Greek government between July-October 2025 for all third country nationals arriving from North Africa. He was automatically detained on arrival to Greece, without access to the asylum procedure or information on his rights, and remained in detention after the ban was lifted. He reported being rescued at sea by the Greek Coast Guard and also experiencing violent beatings during the rescue mission. As he further explained: “They [the Greek Coast Guard] beat me in my stomach in their own boat after they rescued us.” The respondent reported being detained for 7 days in an informal detention facility in the former Agia Exhibition Centre in Chania with insufficient food provision and no access to proper showers or items for personal hygiene, such as soap and shampoo. He added that detainees had to use two taps of cold water in order to be able to wash. He explained that those taps were also used by people held in the facility to drink water, as they were reportedly provided with one bottle each only once upon arrival. He described the informal detention facility as a large warehouse of 100 square metres with 700-800 people detained inside: “Everybody was sharing the same space: families, Sudanese, people from Egypt, minors. We separated ourselves, made space for women on one side and men on one side.” He further detailed that people were only provided with blankets but no beds or mattresses to sleep on and that they received medical screening upon arrival in the facility. In Crete, he reported not receiving any information nor official documentation, and that his phone was taken and returned only after transfer to the Special Detention Facility of Serres, in Sintiki. He added: “They [the authorities] took pictures of us, they took our names. [...] They took photos with their phones and we didn't ask why as they would not give us any information anyway.”

The respondent reported arriving in Sintiki in early August, although he added that the authorities inaccurately recorded his arrival date as two days later than the actual one. He reported poor food quality in Sintiki. He further detailed that there was no staff in charge of cleaning the detention facility and that the detainees themselves organised cleaning shifts, while only being provided with gloves and trashbags but no cleaning products or items for personal hygiene. He added: “We used to give money to Sudanese ladies to buy us hygiene items from outside, but now the authorities prohibit that. [...] There is a market coming [in our section] but it is very expensive and does not have the products we actually need like soap and shampoo.” With regards to healthcare provision, he reported that there was a doctor on site and the possibility of being transferred to a hospital if needed, as well as the presence of an Arabic interpreter. However, he also recalled an instance in which he was brought to the hospital outside the facility in handcuffs and was unable to communicate with the medical staff there since interpretation services were not available. As a result, he did not receive appropriate medical attention. He explained being mistreated by the authorities, being rudely dismissed when requesting information and even “being threatened with a stick”. In his words: “They disgraced me and made me feel that I am dirty, disgusting. They are afraid to touch me. [...] They order us to step back and not get closer. They also insult us verbally, they say to us ‘malaka’.” The respondent detailed having submitted an application for asylum and being rejected, however, he also added that he was not involved in the appeal process, but rather this was submitted “automatically” by the authorities in the camp on his behalf. He reported not receiving adequate legal advice as well as the required interpretation service to deal with legal matters. He further reported prolonged detention periods, and added that even those with serious health issues remained detained for prolonged periods of time. As he detailed: “I have a friend who has kidney problems and he is very sick but they did not release him. [...] They give us papers of detention of 50 days, every time this paper is finished, they give us a new one.” Finally, he mentioned “an organisation which comes and provides info about getting back to our country and taking 1000 euro. [...] My cousin was with me, then they took him to Menidi and then deported him to Egypt.”