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three participants reported anyway that the
2. Inadequate food and water
police broke or “lost” their phones. For
Overall, inadequate food and water continue to
instance, Jalal shared that the police were
pose a serious challenge for detained persons
attempting to break his camera but instead
and contribute to, or in some cases cause,
broke his phone. He said,
various health problems.61 While participants
“They broke the camera and the whole phone, and
continue to report that the quality of the food
when I asked them why did you break my phone,
often renders the food inedible, it appears from
they shouted at me and told me to leave the room.”
participants’ testimonies that the quantity of
Kenan also shared that he had a broken phone,
although it remains unclear whether the police
broke it. As the police confirmed this practice,
it is likely that more participants interviewed
for this report had their phone cameras or
phones broken.
A lack of access to a phone, often the only
means to communicate with family or
individuals outside the PRDC, leads to
significant distress among detainees. Naeem
explained, “I feel very isolated as I have only
memories because the police lost my phone, so I
don’t even have photos anymore.” Not only are
the broken cameras and/or phones distressing
for detained persons, the practice continues to
limit lawyers access to clients and our ability to
gain information about clients’ cases and the
living conditions in the PRDC more broadly.
Without a phone camera, detained persons are
unable to send their lawyers pictures of
food has been reduced since the November
2021 report and is insufficient to meet detained
persons’ basic needs. The decreased quantity of
food is further supported by Equal Rights’
recent observations of clients who appear
visibly malnourished after months of
detention. With regards to the provision of
water, participants continue to share that they
are only given one bottle a day and that this is
insufficient to meet their basic needs.
Similar to last year, participants confirmed
that while detained persons were provided
with three meals a day, the poor quality of the
food provided rendered many of their meals
inedible. All ten participants commented on
the poor quality of food in some way, with
some describing the food as difficult if not
impossible to eat. For example, Ameen and
Haidar share that they opted to skip meals
because
documents concerning their legal procedure
“A couple of times the food came not cooked” and
and are unable to document the conditions in
that one of them “had to vomit twice” because of
the PRDC. Without a phone entirely, detained
the poor food quality, while Jalal said,
persons are unable to contact their lawyers for
“Most of the time we throw it away because we
legal representation. Thus, the lack of access to
phones inhibits Equal Rights’ and other legal
actors’ ability to provide effective and efficient
legal aid to detained asylum seekers.
cannot eat it.”
For many individuals, however, throwing away
food is not an option despite its poor quality.
Kenan shared that although the quality of food
was poor, he had to “accept the food as is” or
61
Detained and Forgotten, supra note 3, at 48-49.
‘Still detained and forgotten’ – Update on Detention Policies, Practices, and Conditions on Kos 2022/23