The respondent is a male from Iran. In January 2019, he was arrested by police in Athens after he took a picture of the US embassy and was taken to a nearby police station (exact location unknown). The respondent reported that police initially suspected him of espionage, however he was subsequently informed that his detention was due to his undocumented status. His phone was taken and he was given a paper to sign. He reported that he did not understand the content as it was in Greek and he had no access to translation. He was then taken to Dafni police station where he was detained for over three months.

For over a month, the respondent was not given any information about the length of his detention. After 45 days, he was again given a paper to sign, which he did not understand as it was in Greek and he had no access to translation. 117 days after he was first detained, the respondent was moved to Amygdaleza Pre-Removal Detention Centre, where he was detained for a further ten days before being registered as an asylum seeker and subsequently released.

According to the respondent, the conditions in Dafni police station were ”horrible”. He was kept in a small basement cell with between ten and twenty other people at one time. The majority of the other detainees were foreign nationals from Pakistan and Bangladesh detained for not having documents, although some faced criminal charges. According to the respondent, the cell had insufficient lighting and hot water. The space as well as blankets and mattresses were reportedly “very very dirty”. He had no access to hygiene items or laundry facilities other than soap which he gave the officers money to buy for him. Showers were only permitted for 30 minutes a day between 10 people. The respondent described the food provided as being minimal and of very poor quality. Drinking water was only available from the bathroom basin. During his time in detention, he had no access to a mobile phone. He was only able to contact friends and a lawyer after another detainee gave him their phone card. He was given no money to make phone calls or buy food, instead relying on food brought to him by friends from a local church. He was only allowed short visits from friends in another room of the police station. According to the respondent, there was no access to doctors in the station and he was only able to access a psychologist after he expressed suicidal thoughts. The respondent described some of the police officers as having a racist attitude towards him, for example telling him “we didn’t invite you to this country” when he complained about the conditions.

After 110 days, the respondent reportedly went on hunger strike and told staff he wanted to kill himself “because dying was better than that situation”. Staff reportedly reacted badly to this and warned him against it, informing him about a previous detainee who had attempted suicide by hanging himself with a blanket.

After seven days of hunger strike, he was taken to hospital in handcuffs and given an IV drip. He was then taken back to Dafni police station where he was again detained. On the same day, the authorities at the police station told him they had received a letter from the Katehaki asylum office, following which he was given his phone back and transferred to Amygdaleza.

The respondent stayed in Amygdaleza detention centre for ten days. Following a conversation with a guard who put him in contact with a friend, he managed to access legal support and registered as an asylum seeker. He described the conditions in Amygdaleza as “even worse than prison”. He was given no mattress, just an iron bed frame, and the room was “full of cockroaches”. Detainees had access to outdoor space but access to doctors was limited, with appointments only given to those with serious health conditions.

During his time in detention, the respondent reportedly lost 15kg of weight. He also described having nightmares and flashbacks about his time in Dafni police station, saying “the things that happened to me in that detention centre changed my life [...] I [was] harmed and I never get back in my previous situation”.