162082
Testimony- Testimony collected by
- Border Violence Monitoring Network
- Date and location recorded
- 16th May 2023, Thessaloniki, Northern Greece
- Detention centre related
- Detention Centre Country
- Greece 3
- Duration of detention
- 4 - 6 months
- Nationality
- Tunisia
- Age
- 36
- Gender
- Male
- LGBTQI
- No answer
- Type of arrest
- Mass/sweep
- Why was the respondent detained?
- Unknown to respondent
- Detained before?
- Yes, in a police station
- Was the respondent informed of the duration of detention?
- Yes
- Did the respondent experience any violence?
- Yes
- Type of violence experienced
- Hate speech
- Physical violence
- Verbal insult
- Was the respondent forced to sign documents?
- Yes, in Greek
- Did the respondent have access to translation?
- Yes, in asylum unit
- Did the respondent have access to medical aid?
- Yes, limited
- Did the respondent have access to NGOs?
- No
- Did the respondent have access to legal support?
- Private lawyer
- Did the respondent apply for asylum?
- Yes
- Appealed?
- Unknown
- Number detained in cell
- 7
- Number detainees sharing WC
- Unknown
- Hygiene rating
- Very poor
- Type of cell
- Room, shared
- Had access to phone?
- Yes, own
- Had access to WiFi?
- No
- Ventilation
- Dysfunctional
- Participated in hunger strike / protest?
- Yes, unsuccesful
- Had conflicts with other detainees?
- No
- Meal quality
- Very poor
- Meal quantity
- 3 per day, in PRDC
- Had access to water?
- Tap
- Had access to outdoor space?
- Yes, limited space
- Had access to educational resources?
- Lessons
- Had access to religious space?
- Unknown
- Had access to electricity?
- Unknown
- Had access to bed?
- Individual, thin
- Had access to laundry?
- Unknown
- Had access to toilet articles?
- Provided, limited
- Had access to mattress?
- Unknown
- Narrative
The respondent is 36 years old and is from Tunisia. He was apprehended in Athens, subsequently held in Petrou Ralli Pre-Removal Detention Centre (PRDC) for six hours, then transferred to Amygdaleza PRDC for four and a half months, and subsequently moved to Xanthi PRDC for approximately 2 months. During the apprehension, the respondent reported that he was forcibly loaded into a van with 20 other people. He stated that the van was overcrowded and that it was difficult to breathe. “They [the officers] were violent. They just grabbed me inside the van. It was so crowded that I couldn’t even breathe. You feel like you are an animal, not human.” Reportedly, he was not informed in a language he understood of why he was apprehended. “They [the officers] are very racist. Whenever they see a foreigner who seems like a migrant, they grab them.” Upon arrival at Petrou Ralli PRDC, the respondent recalled being searched, having his fingerprints and photograph taken, as well as having to sign Greek papers which he did not understand. He further stated that there was no translator present at the detention site. The respondent was kept at Petrou Ralli for approximately six hours during which he was not provided with food or water. According to the respondent, the officers were verbally abusive and often acted aggressively towards detainees. “If you stare at them [the officers] or ask for something, they always respond in a rude way [and use] insulting language. The treatment was very bad.” After approximately six hours, the respondent was transferred with 25 other people, including women and minors, to Amygdaleza PRDC. Upon arrival at Amygdaleza, the respondent reportedly was searched but none of his belongings were taken. Furthermore, he was given one broken mattress and an old blanket before being brought to an open space with no windows or door where the group was quarantined for five days to ensure that they did not have Coronavirus. After five days, the respondent was relocated to a room described as approximately 2x3 square metres in size with two sets of bunk beds. The room reportedly had six people in it and there were people sleeping on the floor. The respondent reported that only two out 20 rooms had a heating system. The hygiene situation was described as “a human disaster”, there were reportedly enough toilets and showers for everyone however “they are not clean, and the doors are broken so there is no privacy.” The respondent recalled receiving one soap, one shampoo and one toothpaste once every three months. If detainees have money, they can buy their own toiletries from a truck that comes to sell items a few times a week. The respondent was reportedly given three meals a day but stated that the quality of the food was poor and often inedible. He had access to drinking water from the tap, however he was not provided with containers to drink from. “Clean not clean, it [the water] could give us diseases, we don't know. We just drink whatever we got from this tap.” The healthcare facilities were reportedly extremely poor in Amygdaleza: there was only one doctor present on site but it was impossible to book an appointment. “People were literally about to die and they weren’t given or offered any health care.” The respondent reported that the treatment from the officers is “a big disaster, they don’t care if you sleep, eat, or if you’re sick [...] sometimes they attack detainees and beat them up…They know that we don't understand the language so they always insult us. They treat you like an animal.” After 20 days in Amygdaleza the respondent applied for asylum and reported that, during his first asylum interview, he was provided with a translator. The respondent reportedly went on hunger strike for four days in protest of his arbitrary detainment and conditions but stated that nothing resulted from this action. “I was very depressed and I just wanted to go back to my job. I didn’t know why they were putting me with people who have committed crimes.” After four months and a half, the respondent was relocated to Xanthi PRDC for approximately two months. He reported that the situation in Xanthi was better than in Amygdaleza and that he was informed on the duration of his detention by a translator. The treatment from the officers was reportedly better in Xanthi: “If you don't create any problems they [the officers] just don't talk to you. They respect you and you can do your own thing.”