Tabesh v. Greece
Court Ruling- Court
- ECtHR
- Type of violation
- (Art. 3) Prohibition of torture
- (Art. 5) Right to liberty and security
- Year of detention
- 2007
- Year
- 2009
- Detention type
- Border Guard Department; Special Holding Facility for Aliens
- Summary of case
- The applicant, an Afghan national, entered Greece without authorisation and received a criminal conviction due to the possession of false travel documents. He was subsequently detained pending deportation. Authorities held the applicant at Kordelio Border Guard Department (now the Thessaloniki Immigration Manangement Department) for seven days before transferring him to the Thessaloniki Aliens Police Directorate Holding Facility. With a challenge to his detention dismissed, the applicant was only released when he reached the three month maximum detention period. Given his lack of travel documents, authorities were unable to deport him to Afghanistan. Reports from an ombudsman and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture corroborated the applicant’s claims about the degrading and inhumane conditions at the Thessaloniki Aliens Police Directorate Holding Facility, which include ‘detainees being unable to perform physical exercise, overcrowding, poor hygiene and lack of access to the outside world.’ The Court found that the applicant’s detention and the duration of his detention at the site were unnecessary and unreasonable. Furthermore, the inability for the applicant to challenge the legality of his detention under domestic law was in conflict with international human rights. Therefore, the Court ruled that the applicant experienced a violation of Article 3, Article 5(1) and Article 5(4).
- Related detention centre
Supporting files
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2 relationships, 2 entities