- 13 In almost all cases, the prosecutor opts for administrative deportation and the irregular migrant should subsequently be transferred to a dedicated Police Holding Facility or a Special facility for the detention of irregular migrants. However, the CPT’s delegation found once again that many irregular migrants were being held in police or border guard stations for the full length of their detention, due to the lack of capacity in the dedicated establishments. 15. As already noted in the report on the 2005 visit, under the authority of the Harbour Master of a Port Authority, the Coast Guard is responsible for apprehending persons attempting to enter Greece irregularly by sea. In addition, the Coast Guard carries out police duties in the port territory. Within this area, which may include the shops and offices along the harbour road, the Coast Guard has the power to arrest and detain any person suspected of committing a criminal offence, including the apprehension of persons attempting illegally to enter or leave the territory of Greece. Irregular migrants apprehended and detained by the Coast Guard are transferred to the police after completion of the necessary formalities (usually within a day or two). 2. Torture and other forms of ill-treatment a. introduction 16. The treatment of persons detained by law enforcement officials has been a focus of the CPT’s activities in Greece since its first visit to the country in 1993. In the course of each visit, the CPT’s delegation has received numerous allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. The corresponding visit reports have highlighted a number of cases as examples in order to draw the attention of the authorities to the practice of ill-treatment by the Greek police. The examples of cases of alleged ill-treatment were intended to alert the authorities to the problem and to urge them to investigate thoroughly the prevalence of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials in order to take concerted action to combat this phenomenon. Regrettably, despite overwhelming indications to the contrary, the Greek authorities have, to date, consistently refused to consider that ill-treatment is a serious problem in Greece and have not taken the required action. For instance, there is still no adequately resourced police inspectorate, nor is there a credible, independent and effective police complaints mechanism, which will lead to allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials being investigated thoroughly and, where appropriate, prosecuted rigorously. It should also be noted that the CPT continues to receive claims from persons who state that the prosecutor or court dismissed their allegations of police ill-treatment without examining the matter.

Select target paragraph3

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