644090
Testimony- Testimony collected by
- Border Violence Monitoring Network
- Date and location recorded
- 29th March 2023, Thessaloniki, Northern Greece
- Detention centre related
- Detention Centre Country
- Greece
- Duration of detention
- 4 - 6 months
- Nationality
- Pakistan
- Age
- 20
- Gender
- Male
- LGBTQI
- No answer
- Type of arrest
- Individual
- Why was the respondent detained?
- Unknown to respondent
- Detained before?
- Unknown
- Was the respondent informed of the duration of detention?
- Unknown
- Did the respondent experience any violence?
- Yes
- Type of violence experienced
- Physical violence
- Theft
- Threats and intimidation
- Verbal insult
- Was the respondent forced to sign documents?
- Unknown
- Did the respondent have access to translation?
- Not applicable
- Did the respondent have access to medical aid?
- Yes, limited
- Did the respondent have access to NGOs?
- Unknown
- Did the respondent have access to legal support?
- Private lawyer
- Did the respondent apply for asylum?
- Yes
- Appealed?
- Unknown
- Number detained in cell
- 10+
- 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
- None
- Participated in hunger strike / protest?
- Unknown
- Had conflicts with other detainees?
- Unknown
- Meal quality
- Very poor
- Meal quantity
- 3 per day, in PRDC
- Had access to water?
- Yes, limited
- Had access to outdoor space?
- Unknown
- Had access to educational resources?
- Unknown
- Had access to religious space?
- Unknown
- Had access to electricity?
- Unknown
- Had access to bed?
- Unknown
- Had access to laundry?
- Unknown
- Had access to toilet articles?
- Provided, limited
- Had access to mattress?
- Individual, thin
- Narrative
The respondent is 20 years old and is from Pakistan. He was apprehended in Kalamata and detained in Corinth PRDC for approximately four months after being held at an unidentified police station for 25 days. The respondent did not have access to free legal support at Corinth and hired a private lawyer to work on his asylum application. He was held in cramped conditions with eleven other people in one room. Detainees reportedly slept on dirty mattresses with thin blankets: “We feel so much cold, all the night we cannot sleep because of the cold.” The respondent recalled that the only heating system in the building was in the corridor so all the individual rooms were not heated, “[The heating] doesn’t make our rooms warm.” The respondent was allowed to keep his phone at Corinth but had to buy data as there was no wifi available. Access to water was limited and sometimes unavailable for up to three days. Basic items such as shampoo and toothpaste were provided every five months. Food was provided three times a day but was reportedly very poor quality and not fresh. Officers working at Corinth reportedly used abusive language towards detainees and inflicted beatings on them in isolated rooms. “If we ask anything, they [the officers] start abusing us. They say something [in] very bad, harsh language.” The respondent was reportedly beaten for 10 minutes by an officer while 10-15 officers stood by and watched, after he requested access to running water. He added: “They wanted to scare me, [they said] that they will increase my time of detention, they pushed me hard, and slapped my face.” The respondent had to wait three months to see a doctor at Corinth and only received painkillers following his consultation.