This database is built on Uwazi, an open-source solution for organising, analysing and publishing documents to make information more easily accessible. It was designed by HURIDOCS.

The material presented in the platform draws on interviews we have conducted with people with experience of detention in Greece and extensive literature and policy review. It further brings together research our team members have been conducting since 2011, including interviews with detained women and staff in Petrou Ralli Pre-Removal Detention Centre in 2011, participant observation in detention facilities (2011-2012), a 5-year project (2015-2019) on formal and informal human rights monitoring processes in Greece, which involved visits to multiple sites of detention (Petrou Ralli PRDC, Amygdaleza PRDC, Kos PRDC, Athens Airport holding facility, and Elliniko-Argyroupoli police station), interviews with NGO workers, policy makers, charitable and volunteer workers, activists, and journalists (2018-2020), as well as a partnership between the University of Oxford and the Border Violence Monitoring Network and Mobile Info Team since 2021. The research and database is funded by the ESRC-IAA, Open Society Foundations and the Wellcome Trust and has received ethical clearance from the University of Oxford’s Research Ethics Committee.

Methodology

The Detention Landscapes database employs a multi-sited and interdisciplinary methodology to provide a comprehensive understanding of immigration detention practices. This approach involves collecting testimonies from immigrants and key actors involved in providing services to detainees, offering valuable first-hand perspectives that inform the research. Additionally, the methodology incorporates a thorough review of relevant literature and policy analysis to contextualize findings within broader legal and social frameworks. The analysis extends to audio-visual materials and 3D files, which are utilized to visualize and interpret detention spaces, adding a spatial and sensory dimension to the study. By integrating these diverse methodological tools, the database aims to offer a nuanced and multifaceted analysis that bridges various fields and perspectives, enhancing the overall comprehension of the complexities inherent in immigration detention systems.

Assembling the site profiles and library

All centres that appear on the map are either official facilities, where third country nationals may be detained, or have been identified in the testimonies, our research findings and other reports. This may include sites which are no longer operational, but are included for archival purposes. All site profile data has been corroborated, reviewed and where possible, verified. Drawing on extensive research and the collection of testimonies, we have assembled, indexed and presented publicly available information relevant to the site profiles that populate the map. The distribution of data is not equally spread among detention centres due to logistical and geographical constraints in the research process. As such, there is more in-depth information on some detention sites than others. The work on building site profiles is ongoing and undertaken in collaboration with local actors, activists, organisations and persons with experience of detention. The site profiles and library include - among others:

• Information about the sites, including operational information and overviews of material conditions and access to services within detention sites.
• Grey literature relevant to the detention site and relevant publications of international and national human rights organisations, monitoring bodies, civil society organisations and researchers.
• Links to media publications concerning conditions and rights violations in detention sites.
• Audiovisual material.

Definitions

Immigration detention

There is little clarity over the extent of the practice of detaining third country nationals, both in relation to the actual numbers of people detained and the types of facility used by detaining authorities. Irrespective of the official term used to describe a facility, their essence as spaces, run by the police, where third country nationals are deprived of their freedom, usually in detrimental conditions, with ill-treatment by the authorities prevailing, remains common among them. By using the term immigration detention, we refer to the complex, often hidden and remote, formal and informal carceral infrastructure that the Greek state has developed to restrict mobility across its national borders and to regulate the presence of foreigners within its territory. Arguably, the term is quite expansive. The blurred boundaries between reception and detention centres have been widely documented, with de facto detention during reception and identification procedures at the borders being the norm, rather than an exception. In this context, the term immigration detention could include any facility where third country nationals may be detained.

Violence

The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. (WHO 2002a: 5) Drawing on this definition and the collection of testimonies we have created the following typology:

• Blunt instrument
• Destruction of personal property
• Dog attacks
• Exposure to extreme temperatures and weather
• Food deprivation
• Forced medication
• Forced undressing
• Gun shots
• Hate speech
• Isolation
• Medical neglect
• Pepper spray
• Physical violence
• Psychological harm
• Rape
• Sexual harassment
• Sharp instrument
• Strip search
• Taser/electroshock
• Tear gas
• Theft
• Threats and intimidation
• Verbal insults
• Water immersion

Warning and disclaimers

The platform is a non-exhaustive and evolutional tool. The information it contains is the result of extensive collaborative research conducted by researchers affiliated with Border Criminologies, Mobile Info Team, and the Border Violence Monitoring Network but it does not claim to reflect the entire body of openly available data on immigration detention.

The map and underlying database only contain information that we were able to collect and verify. The database is not comprehensive of all events of human rights violations inside immigration detention facilities nor all information about those events.

Any visual data provided by interview respondents is anonymised and undergoes a review process to check its authenticity and where possible, to verify it prior to being published on this platform. Each image has been marked with a note to indicate the level of graphic content.

We do not publish information that might put any individuals at risk. On occasion, we may delay publication to ensure the safety of those involved.

We draw on testimonies when reporting on events of violence inside facilities, which we try to verify; we are not responsible for claims about events made on online sources that we link to.

Our process for verifying data is rigorous and involves several stages of review. However, if you believe any data to be inaccurate, please email detention.landscapes@crim.ox.ac.uk explaining why you think the data is not correct, and we will review the data. You can also provide your feedback on the platform via the Contact us page.