Structure of report
Chapter 1 outlines the laws governing detention in police stations, including the grounds
for detention and the conditions in which detainees must be held. In Chapter 2, we
outline a brief history of the use of police stations for detaining foreign nationals in
Greece up to the present day, alongside key issues related to lack of transparency,
accountability and the prevalence of police ill-treatment and violence. Chapter 3 presents
an analysis of survey data collected from lawyers representing detained people, and
Chapter 4 presents findings from interviews with people with first-hand experience of
detention. In Chapters 5-6, we analyse testimonies related to two police departments in
Thessaloniki: the Thessaloniki General Police Directorate and the Special Ηolding Facility
of the Thessaloniki Aliens Police Directorate. Based on the multiple troubling accounts of
detention in these police departments, documented in this report, we encourage all
relevant monitoring bodies to consider prioritising follow-up visits to these police stations
in their future work. The lack of meaningful improvements since previous visits –
including those by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to the Special
Holding Facility in 2016² and the Thessaloniki General Police Directorate in 2019³ –
underscores the need for continued oversight and scrutiny.
the Thessaloniki General Police Directorate and the Special Ηolding Facility of the Thessaloniki
Aliens Police Directorate. Based on the multiple extremely troubling accounts of detention in
these police departments, documented in this report, we encourage all relevant monitoring
bodies to consider prioritising follow-up visits to these police stations in their future work. The
lack of meaningful improvements since previous visits – including those by the Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to the Special Holding Facility in 2016 and the Thessaloniki
General Police Directorate in 2019 – underscores the need for continued oversight and scrutiny.
Image: Satellite imagery showing the Thessaloniki Special Holding Facility and the Transfers Sub-Directorate, Google Earth/2014 Airbus
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