- 16 ii. A middle aged Greek man, apprehended on the street in Thessaloniki by the “motorcycle brigade” on 3 April 2015, alleged that he was thrown to the ground, kicked and, after being handcuffed, dragged along the street and subjected to kicks to the body and head by an officer wearing heavy duty motorcycle boots. After his apprehension, he was taken to Sindos Police Station and subsequently to Papanikolaou General Hospital for treatment for his injuries. He was returned to Sindos Police Station and held there until 8 April, when he was brought before an investigating judge. The man stated that he told the judge about the ill-treatment inflicted by police officers and the injuries he sustained but reportedly the judge did not believe him despite his lower right leg and foot being heavily bandaged. Further, he was apparently not granted access to a lawyer at the time of this hearing.8 When the person in question was examined by the delegation’s forensic medical doctor in Diavata Judicial Prison on 16 April, he still displayed multiple blunt injuries to his lower limbs, as well as a swollen right ankle with reduced and painful movements in the affected joint (see case 3 of Appendix III for a full description). The injuries were consistent with the allegations of ill-treatment. iii. The CPT’s delegation also spoke with a foreign national detained at Corinth Pre-departure centre who alleged that he had been subjected to excessive use of force by motorcycle police officers in Patras. He claimed that, on 13 November 2014, he was chased by police officers with six motorbikes, and subsequently assaulted and subjected to truncheon blows to his body and head, including to his nose, around his forehead and to the back of the head. He further alleged that, as a consequence, he was knocked unconscious and had to be hospitalised for 15 days. Upon examination by one of the delegation’s medical doctors, six months after the incident, the foreign national displayed a 2cm irregular scar on the right parietal area of his skull, in addition to a 1cm scarred indentation of his left forehead. His nasal bones were deviated externally to the right and he complained of right-sided nasal obstruction.9 On his lower left leg, he had multiple scars, irregular in nature, measuring 20x5cm in the broadest diameter. 17. The CPT recognises that the apprehension of a criminal suspect is often a hazardous task, in particular if the person concerned resists and/or is someone whom the police have good reason to believe may be armed and dangerous. The circumstances of an apprehension may be such that injuries are sustained by the person concerned (and by police officers) without this being the result of any intention to inflict ill-treatment. However, no more force than is strictly necessary is to be used when carrying out an apprehension and, once apprehended persons have been brought under control, there can be no justification for striking or kicking them. The CPT recommends that these basic principles be reiterated on a regular basis to police officers and that the perpetrators of any form of physical ill-treatment be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code. 8 9 An examination of the official records at Sindos Police Station confirmed his movements. This injury could not been explained simply by the fact that he had accidently been hit by a ball on the nose the day before the CPT’s visit, for which he had again been taken to hospital.