The respondent is a man from Iran of undisclosed age who was detained in the Corinth Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC) between Oct. 25, 2024 and Jan. 15, 25, excluding a period of at least one month over July-Aug. 2025 when he was detained in Athens at Petrou Ralli (Tavros) PRDC. His testimony focuses predominantly on his experiences in Corinth PRDC, particularly in relation to his hunger strike.

Speaking to University of Oxford researchers in Oct. 2026, the man reported spending three years imprisoned in Korydallos Prison Complex and a further two in Patra Prison prior to his detentions in Corinth and Athens. On Oct. 25, 2024, he was released from Patra Prison and transferred, via a cage in a car, to a police station in Kato Achaia where he was held for 18 days before he was detained in Corinth PRDC.

On arrival, the man told officers in Corinth PRDC he had claimed asylum prior to his five-year imprisonment, but they reportedly said they would need to check his papers and proceeded to detain him.

Corinth PRDC reportedly housed 5-6 people per room during the man’s time at the facility, with almost no access to electricity and each space separated by a thin wall. Because of this, he said the centre provided no privacy, which led to conflict between people trying to sleep and those taking phone calls. These fights reportedly provoked violence from centre officials, with the respondent describing occasions when officers “hit us together”, injured a man and isolated him, and confiscated phones to prevent recording. Officers also took away phones as a punishment for perceived misdeeds, he reported.

He described the centre as crowded and dirty, reporting there to be no bathroom, shower, or toilet with running water – just an empty room. When it was windy, the toilet room stench spread across the centre and “everyone had headaches from the smell”, he said. A large pigeon population at the facility also reportedly contributed to the filth and made people unwell.

It was reportedly only possible to see a doctor at Corinth PRDC if a person lodged an appointment request with a centre officer. The respondent said approval depended entirely on an individual officer’s decision and suggested some 90% of requests received no reply. When appointments were granted, people reportedly, in the majority of cases, received only Dapsone irrespective on their complaint. The respondent said the doctors had “lots of pills” but felt these medications were deliberately withheld due to racism, fascism, and a belief that everyone in the centre complains and lies about their state of health.

The doctors initially refused to let a man with kidney stones go to hospital, reportedly saying “we cannot take anyone to the hospital out of this camp”. They capitulated however when a group, including the respondent, refused to return inside the facility until the man was driven to hospital.

Breakfasts at the facility were reportedly very small, with each person receiving one glass of watered-down milk. He said that of every 14 lunches and dinners, 10 were inedible with people experiencing stomach issues due to raw rice and meat or because food had been left out in the heat. Drinking water was said to be salty.

The man participated in a hunger strike with three other people in July 2025, refusing to eat unless they were transferred out of Corinth PRDC due to the length of their detention, the reported overcrowding, and the insufficient food. After four days of strike, he said they were taken to and kept in a room with several dead, decomposing animals and no access to water. They were reportedly told “either you eat or you stay there”.

After one day in the room, the centre manager said they would be transferred to a camp in Thessaloniki if they ate. On this condition, the respondent said they broke their strike but were instead taken to Petrou Ralli (Tavros) PRDC in Athens.

The respondent described how he was not allowed his phone at Petrou Ralli, how he felt disappointed and deceived by the Corinth PRDC manager, and how he fought the police on arrival at the new facility. The police reportedly swore at him and the respondent knocked an officer to the ground. He said he was taken to an isolated room and kept at Petrou Ralli longer than the other hunger strikers. In August 2025, after spending at least one month at the facility, the respondent said he was taken back to Corinth PRDC.

Once again detained in Corinth, the respondent began another hunger strike, reporting at one point being put in handcuffs to see a psychologist. On the eighth day of his strike, the respondent said he called his lawyer, who then contacted the centre manager to insist he be sent to hospital – they agreed. The respondent continued his strike in hospital, reportedly prompting centre officials to say he’d be released from detention if he ate. They refused, however, his lawyer’s request to put this offer in writing.

The respondent was later told he would be released from detention on January 15th, 2026 if he ended his strike. He agreed and was reportedly let out on the promised day on the condition he did not live in Athens and reported every month to a police station in Glyfada.