raised the concern of size were aggres- conditions have non negligible physical sively beaten. Just after the dinghy was and mental effects on the detainees due loaded, it capsized and everyone on bo- to the use of unsuitable vehicles and in- ard fell into the water. Two men tired of human conditions such as the lack of air. the previous conditions in the vehicule Therefore, BVMN identifies a violation drowned. of Article 3, ECHR as well as of Article 2, ECHR of the right to life since testi- The respondent, a 21-year-old was ap- monies recall that people have drowned prehended in the centre of Thessaloniki following the unbearable conditions in by eight police officers. He was loaded the vehicle taking them to the border. into the vehicle and brought to the Aristotelous police station where he was Inhuman Treatment inside a detention held for three hours in a small cell with facility other people-on-the-move. They were not given food or water and had to ask to The inhuman conditions people on the use the toilets. After being transferred to moves have to endure are not limited Ampelokipi Police Department, he was to the pushback event itself, but rather placed once more in a small cell. The to their experiences of border zones. respondent was once more transferred Indeed, testimonies gathered by BVMN to Metagogon pre-removal detention in 2020 show that people-on-the-move centre in Thessaloniki where he shared who are detained face physical abuse, a cell with approximately 30 other pe- psychological torment, a lack of access ople. After a stop to Drama Paranesti De- to basic facilities like food, water, toilets tention Facility, he was taken to Soufli by and showers as well as the denial of the- a freezer truck. The officers closed the ir right to interpretation, information and doors and locked the group inside. The effective remedy regarding their deten- truck was white, old, and approximately tion. The use of informal detention sites 5 x 2 metres in size. The respondent was are identified by BVMN as an attempt of confined inside this truck with more the Greek authorities to escape or evade than 30 people and described his expe- administrative oversight when commit- rience as “we were breathing hard” and ting grave human rights abuses. “it was really hot.” They were then taken After four days of walking through Gre- to the border. ece, the respondent and his group were According to the testimonies recorded apprehended by six men in black clot- by BVMN, up to 999 people-on-the-mo- hes wearing balaclavas. After being be- ve have been transported under condi- aten and insulted, they were taken to a tions that could constitute a violation of detention site in Alexandroupoli. When international standards for the transpor- they arrived, they were forced to und- tation of detainees. In addition, these ress before being taken to a large room. 9