I From 18 to 20 March 2011 the National Commission of Human Rights (hereinafter NCHR) and the Greek Ombudsman (hereinafter the Ombudsman) visited the prefectures of Evros and Rodopi in order to investigate the conditions in the detention centers for aliens, the implementation of the relevant legislation for asylum and the management of migration and refugee flows at entry points.
The joint team was headed by Mr. K. Papaioannou, President of the NCHR and Mr. B. Karidis, Deputy Ombudsman for Human Rights. The members of the team visited the following detention places: Fylakion Detention Center for migrants, Department of Neo Himonio Border Guard Station, Department of Metaxades Border Guard Station, Department of Soufli Border Guard Station, Department of Tychero Border Guard Station, Department of Ferres Border Guard Station, Venna Detention Centre for aliens. On top of those visits the team met with the Police Chief of
* The following text was adopted unanimously at the plenary session of the NCHR on June 30 th , 2011.
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Orestiada, G. Salamagka, and the Deputy Police Officer of Alexandroupoli, N. Menexidi. In addition, a meeting was held on 19.03.2011 with representatives of local bodies, police officials and organizations that are active in the region. The meeting was attended by the Governor of the Hospital of Alexandroupolis Mr Raptopoulos, the rector of the Democritus University of Thrace Mr Remelis, the President of the Municipal Council, Mr Anglias, the Deputy Police Officer of Alexandroupoli K. Menexidis, the President of the Association of Police Officers of Rodopi Mr. Tzatzanas, the President of the Association of Police Officers Evros Mr. Hatzianagnostou, Mr Spyratos and and Ms Kourafa from the "Doctors without Borders," and finally, Ms. Velivasaki from the ‘Greek Council for Refugees’ ». The participants discussed, inter alia, the possibility of setting up a cooperation network with relevant agencies.
The present report comprises the identification of problems as well as a number of proposals to address them, and general observations on the current situation regarding the management of migration and refugee flows at entry points.
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It should be noted that the processing and detention conditions as well as the procedure for international protection are regulated by both the national legal framework and the international law, as well as EU law binding for Greece ( see indicatively ECHR, ICCPR, CAT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, TEU and Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union). Greece’s non-compliance and/or the poor implementation of the existing legal framework have been heavily criticized both by organizations for the protection of human rights, and by jurisdictional organs of international organizations.
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It should be noted that criticism for poor prison conditions has increased in recent years, as presented in the CPT reports 1, and those of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 2 and the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union (FRA) 3. On March 15 th 2011 the CPT issued a Public Statement on Greece under Article 10, paragraph 2 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 4 The issuance of a public statement is the ultimate means the CPT may use to criticize a particular country, and it has been used so far only five times (1992 and 1996 regarding Turkey, 2001, 2003 and 2007 regarding Russia on the situation in Chechnya). The CPT stressed that " The Greek Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Minister responded with a letter of complaint addressed to the President of CPT. He stressed that the issuance of public statements is related to cases where the nucleus of human rights (torture, physical and psychological abuse, forced disappearances, kidnappings, etc.) is flagrantly offended. There has been no such serious complaints about Greece. The letter also underlines Greece’s responsibility in controlling illegal immigration and the
1 See , CPT/Inf (2009) 20 (Strasbourg, 30 June 2009), , CPT/Inf (2010) 33 (Strasbourg, 17 November 2010). The CPT visited detention places for migrants from 20 th until 27 th of January 2011 to assess the measures taken by the Greek authorities to implement the repeated recommendations. The full report from this visit has not been disclosed yet. 2 , A/HRC/16/52/Add.4 (4 March 2011). 3 Fundamental Rights Agency, (8 March 2011). 4 http://www.cpt.coe.int/documents/grc/2011-10-inf-grc.pdf . 3 subsequent burden on the Greek prison system, while describing in detail the recent initiatives and measures adopted in correctional facilities. Despite the fact that we understand the spirit of a part of the objections raised by the Minister of Justice, the public statement and its consequences are an issue the country has still to address. Furthermore, recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) show that not only the conditions of detention per se but also the legality of detention was at the root of the country’s conviction for violation of Articles 3 and 5 ECHR. We indicatively note the decisions SD 5, AA, 6 Tabesh 7, MSS 8, Rahimi 9 and RU 10 vs. Greece. We also note that there are more pending cases before the ECHR 11 . Finally, regarding the asylum procedure and its implementation, particularly at entry points, we refer to the recent ECHR decision , in which, on top of the shortcomings in terms of detention conditions, Greece is considered as an unsafe country to return asylum seekers under the "Dublin II" Agreement, due to non-compliance with the safeguards for efficient examination of asylum claims and the insurance of appropriate reception conditions.