548858
Testimony- Testimony collected by
- Border Violence Monitoring Network
- Date and location recorded
- 6th March 2025, Thessaloniki, Northern Greece
- Detention centre related
- Detention Centre Country
- Greece 2
- Duration of detention
- 4 - 6 months
- Nationality
- Egypt
- Age
- 30
- Gender
- Male
- Type of arrest
- Individual
- Why was the respondent detained?
- Undocumented
- Detained before?
- Yes, in prison
- Was the respondent informed of the duration of detention?
- No
- Did the respondent experience any violence?
- Yes, in a police station
- Type of violence experienced
- Medical neglect
- Did the respondent have access to translation?
- No
- Did the respondent have access to medical aid?
- Yes, limited
- Did the respondent have access to legal support?
- Yes, upon request
- Number detained in cell
- 6
- Hygiene rating
- Very poor
- Type of cell
- Cell, shared
- Ventilation
- None
- Meal quality
- Satisfactory
- Had access to outdoor space?
- More than 2h per day
- Had access to bed?
- Individual, thin
- Had access to mattress?
- None
- Narrative
The respondent is approximately 30 years old and is Egyptian. He reported having spent seven months in detention at the Judicial Prison of Larissa. After that, he was reportedly transferred to and detained in the Larissa Police Department for forty days due to being undocumented. After that, the respondent reported being transferred to the Xanthi Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC) for a further detention period of three months. The respondent recalled that his room in Larissa Police Department was small and dirty. He described detainees sleeping on cement blocks instead of beds and reported that the toilets were “super dirty”. He further reported that the temperature in the room was very cold and that there was no ventilation. The cold temperatures were exacerbated by the reported lack of proper mattresses and warm blankets, meaning detainees had to sleep on cold cement blocks without sufficient bedding. The respondent was reportedly given a document written in Greek at the Larissa Police Department, stating that he should be outside of the country for five years. He insisted that it was not a 25-days document but a five-years deportation order (“apelasi”). This led the respondent to be confused about why he was kept detained rather than being either released or actually deported.