- 37 99.
By contrast, a considerable number of prisoners (both prisoners met at Korydallos who
previously had been held in Larissa Prison and prisoners met at Larissa) alleged that staff at Larissa
Prison on occasion physically assaulted prisoners, in particular prisoners who displayed
insubordination or insolence; such assaults were said to have occurred in particular in the
establishment's segregation unit. Further, several prisoners complained that a certain section of the
prison's staff tended to adopt a provocative attitude.
However, some prisoners told the delegation that although "beatings" by prison staff still
occurred, the situation in this respect was considerably better than that which had prevailed some
years ago. It should also be added that inmates in the two units accommodating respectively
juveniles and homosexuals/transvestites had no complaints to make about their treatment by the
prison staff.
In any event, it was clear from the delegation's own observations that staff/prisoner relations
were distinctly less favourable at Larissa than at Korydallos.
100. In its final talks with the Minister of Justice, the CPT's delegation drew attention to the
allegations which it had heard concerning physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff at Larissa
Prison. The delegation also pointed out that the prison displayed a combination of other factors severe overcrowding, low staff numbers, absence of regime activities, inadequate medical care, very
different categories of prisoners sharing the same living accommodation, poor staff/prisoner
relations - which meant that it had to be considered as a "high risk" establishment from the point of
view of the possibility of ill-treatment occurring. Consequently, the delegation recommended that
Larissa Prison be visited by the Ministry's Prison Inspectorate at the earliest opportunity.
101. By letter of 24 September 1993, the Greek authorities forwarded to the CPT the report on
Larissa Prison drawn up following the inspection recommended by its delegation. The inspection
report provides a thorough analysis of the various problems facing the establishment and contains a
coherent set of proposals to address them (cf. also paragraphs 121 and 122).
As regards the specific question of the allegations of physical ill-treatment of prisoners by
staff at Larissa Prison, the CPT has taken careful note of the Inspectors' remarks in section V of
their report as well as of the letter of 13 August 1993 from the Prison Director at Larissa to the
Ministry of Justice. The Committee fully accepts that a major factor underlying these allegations
could well be that the vast majority of inmates would prefer for personal reasons to be held
elsewhere than at Larissa (and in particular at Athens or Thessaloniki). Further, the fact that
"troublesome" prisoners from throughout the prison system have tended to be transferred to Larissa
is another relative factor in this context.
In any event, it is evident from the Inspectors' report that the prison staff at Larissa has been
made fully aware of the importance of stamping out any acts constituting an infringement of a
prisoner's personal dignity, and the CPT notes with interest the Inspectors' comment that "it is clear
to us from our conversations with both senior and other staff that they are all determined to remove
every negative element in the staff's behaviour towards the prisoners".
Under such circumstances, no further recommendation on this matter is called for.
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