- 18 Another of the three displayed several injuries when he was met by the delegation: several small dark bruises on his right arm and on his back as well as a pale bluish hematoma measuring 5cm with a scabbed wound of 2cm in diameter on his left leg. He also claimed that he had pain in his ribs, which was pronounced when inhaling or sneezing. Further, he claimed that police officers also repeatedly kicked him with their boots on an open wound that he was about to seek treatment for when arrested. Subsequently, he did not receive any treatment for it, despite repeated requests to be examined by a doctor. The open wound, located on the posterior of the pelvic region, measured about 5cm in diameter and caused him pain. ii. As regards Demokratias Police Station in Thessaloniki, a remand prisoner from Bulgaria met by the delegation in Diavata Prison claimed that he had been ill-treated by a Security Police officer in a room on the fourth floor of the police station, following his arrest on 8 February 2015. He alleged that he had been verbally abused and forced to turn to the wall and to raise his hands above his head – slightly bent, stretched and pressed against the wall. He then described that he had received several blows with a wooden stick on the lateral aspects of his torso, mainly to the right side. He claimed that, during that time, he was repeatedly pressed to confess to a certain crime that he said he did not commit. He also alleged that he was not medically examined before his transfer to Diavata Prison, from where he was referred to a hospital for examination, two days after his admission on 19 February. The relevant entry in the trauma register of the prison mentions that he complained of having been beaten by a police officer some two weeks before and about pain on the right side of his chest. Moreover, he was able to describe in detail the location of the office and the exact place where the wooden stick had been kept. When the delegation subsequently went to the police station, it found two wooden bats behind the door in office number 407, as described by the person. One measured approximately 97cm in length and 3cm in diameter, and the other was about 76cm in length and 3cm in diameter and had the inscription “Schengen – ΔΕΘ” in redcoloured letters on it (see Appendix IV). The operational officers present could not provide a convincing explanation of why such non-standard and unlabelled objects should be kept there. 20. In the CPT’s view, there is no legitimate reason for such objects to be kept in rooms used for interviewing suspects. Apart from inviting speculation about improper conduct on the part of police officers, objects of this kind are a potential source of danger to staff and criminal suspects alike. All items seized for the purpose of being used as evidence should always be properly labelled, recorded and kept in a dedicated property store, as indicated by the relevant regulation. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities ensure that the above precepts are implemented.

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents