Xanthi Pre-Removal Detention Centre – 3D Model

Organisation in Charge

Hellenic Police

Facility Status

Operational

Overview

Xanthi Pre‑Removal Detention Centre is an administrative facility located in Xanthi, Northeastern Greece. Operating since 2012 under the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection and managed by the Hellenic Police, it accommodates male asylum seekers and third country nationals undergoing administrative procedures. Though officially designed for up to 210 detainees, historical figures (2013–2018) show higher occupancies (up to 480), highlighting chronic overcrowding. The conditions of the centre have consistently been reported as extremely poor with dysfunctional facilities.

This 3D model, developed as part of the Detention Landscapes project, reconstructs the spatial structures of the Xanthi detention centre. While architectural structures convey important aspects of state violence, the 3D model should be considered alongside documented testimonies from people who have first-hand experience of being detained in Xanthi, for a fuller understanding of the lived realities of immigration detention.

Exploring the 3D Model

Use your mouse or touchscreen to rotate, zoom, and explore the different sections of the facility. The model includes modular container structures, fences and communal areas. Some areas are marked with interactive hotspots providing testimonies of the lived reality of detention from former detainees. Different colours indicate differing functions of buildings (for accommodation, administrative activities etc).

Due to restrictions on access to the facility and limited photographic documentation due to confiscation of detainees' mobile phone devices, several elements in the model are based on satellite imagery, online research, interviews with detainees, official reports, and informed architectural inference. This model is therefore not an exact or architecturally accurate representation, but an interpretive reconstruction intended to visualise the spatial and experiential dimensions of detention.

Architecture and Layout

Xanthi features a prison‑style design: secure perimeter fencing (often with barbed wire), prefabricated shelters or containers for cells, and shared indoor areas. The facility consists of two two-storey accommodation buildings, each within a secure fenced perimeter, and an administration building. The site previously functioned as a regional police academy.

Lived Experiences and Testimonies

Detainees in Xanthi face a severe lack of purposeful activities, limited outdoor space and extended detention periods.

Accommodation consists of rooms in two-storey buildings, with space outside within fences which can be accessed from early morning until midnight. Detainees are typically not provided with basic items on arrival, such as toilet roll, shampoo and laundry items, leading to some washing clothes by hand. Mattresses and beds are provided but in very poor and dirty condition.

Testimonies have reported poor food quality, limited hot water supply and lack of medical care in Xanthi. Access to legal information and assistance is also a significant issue. The material infrastructure is in severe need of renovation, with some toilets inactive and dysfunctional bathrooms.

"Xanthi is an actual prison: sanitary conditions are bad, we washed our clothes by hand, the food is not good, and there is very little information about why you are there and how long you will stay."

— Anonymous detainee in Xanthi, testimony taken in 2022

Resistance and Visibility

Since 2012, detainees in Xanthi have engaged in protests, hunger strikes, acts of self-harm, and other forms of civil disobedience. Shortly after the facility opened, an Afghan national sewed his lips together in protest against the duration of detention. A recent protest reported in spring 2025 highlighted the mental distress of detainees caused by extended legal limbo and prolonged incarceration.