- 38 102. It should be noted that the different establishments in the Korydallos Prison Complex and
Larissa Prison were accommodating significant numbers of foreign prisoners. In this connection,
the CPT's delegation observed that some foreign prisoners did not have a full understanding of the
prison regime or of their rights and responsibilities, and that on occasion there were serious
difficulties of communication between prison staff and foreign prisoners. Such a situation can easily
give rise to misunderstandings and possibly disputes.
The CPT therefore recommends that appropriate steps be taken to counter these
difficulties (eg. preparation and translation into relevant foreign languages of a booklet
describing the routine and regime of the prison, the rights and responsibilities of prisoners
and staff, and complaints and disciplinary procedures; translation of those expressions most
commonly used in daily interaction between prisoners and staff; basic training in foreign
languages for designated prison officers).
103. The CPT also wishes to emphasise the importance which it attaches to the training of prison
staff. There is no better guarantee against the ill-treatment of a prisoner than a properly trained
prison officer. As with police officers (cf. paragraphs 28 and 85) developed interpersonal
communication skills are an essential part of the make-up of such a prison officer; they will help to
reduce tensions and improve the quality of life in prisons, to the benefit of all concerned.
The CPT would like to receive detailed information on the length and content of prison
officer training.
104. Finally, to enable the CPT to obtain a nationwide view of the situation, it would like to
receive information on the number of complaints of ill-treatment lodged in 1992 and 1993
against prison officers in Greece and on the number of disciplinary and/or criminal
proceedings initiated during the same period in relation to allegations of ill-treatment by
prison officers, together with an account of any sanctions imposed.
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