Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Greece.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Greece. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee publishes report on prisons in Greece European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment CPT, 2 September 2022 [accessed 2
September 2022] The CPT concludes
that far too many prisoners in Greece continue to be held in conditions which
represent an affront to their human dignity. The Committee urges the Greek
authorities to ensure that prisons move away from merely warehousing persons
in overcrowded, dangerous and poor conditions with no purposeful activities
to places which offer decent living conditions and that prepare persons for
reintegration back into the community upon their release. In addition, the
Greek authorities need to invest in sufficient competent staff to manage
prisons and provide the requisite support to persons held in prison. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Greece U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/greece/
[accessed 21 July
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT In April a report
published by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment (CPT) referenced cases of mistreatment by police,
especially of foreign nationals and persons from the Roma community, a
problem that is a frequent practice throughout the country. CPT also reported
receiving a high number of credible allegations of excessive use of excessive
force, of unduly tight handcuffing upon apprehension, and of physical and
psychological mistreatment of criminal suspects during or in the context of
police interviews. Some allegations involved the application of a plastic bag
over the suspect’s head during police interviews, reportedly with the aim of
obtaining a confession and a signed statement. None of the persons who
alleged mistreatment was allowed to make a phone call or to contact a lawyer
during their initial questioning by the police. PRISON AND DETENTION
CENTER CONDITIONS Prison and
detention center conditions included severe overcrowding, insufficient
security, lack of access to health care, inadequate
access to food and sanitation, and inadequate supplies of resources.
Prisoners alleged police mistreatment and physical and verbal abuse (see
section 2.f., Protection of Refugees). Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/greece/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 12 May
2020] F3. IS THERE PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE
USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR AND INSURGENCIES? Some prisons and
detention centers suffer from substandard conditions, and law enforcement
personnel have at times been accused of physical abuse, particularly against
vulnerable groups such as migrants and asylum seekers. Probe Finds
Evidence of Torture at Nigrita A. Papapostolou, GreekReporter, 5
Apr 2014 greece.greekreporter.com/2014/04/05/probe-finds-evidence-of-torture-at-nigrita/ [accessed 8 April
2014] All the prison
guards who tortured Albanian inmate Ilia Kareli in Nigrita,
Greece, have confessed and expressed regret for their actions, and asked to
be released. To hide the crime,
Kareli was tortured in a cell without cameras for more than two-and-a-half
hours, after which guards pretended he was conscious as they dragged him to
his cell, even though they knew they had already killed him. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. CAT/C/GRC/CO/5-6
(2012) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/greece2012.html [accessed 27
February 2013] Allegations of
torture and ill-treatment, impunity 10. The Committee
expresses its serious concern at persistent allegations of torture and
ill-treatment by law enforcement officials during arrest or detention,
including in the premises of the Criminal Investigation Departments (CID).
The Committee is also concerned at the limited number of such cases that have
been prosecuted, the very limited number of final convictions, and the lack
of sanctions due to mitigating circumstances etc,
in cases where there have been convictions. The Committee notes that this
does not correspond to recent decisions and rulings from international
bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human
Rights, as well as persistent allegations and extensive documentation
received from other sources. The Committee also reiterates its concern at the
continued reluctance of prosecutors to institute criminal proceedings under
article 137A of the Criminal Code and that only one case has resulted in a
conviction under this article. In addition, the Committee shares the concern
of the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture regarding the limited
forensic evidence available to corroborate allegations of ill-treatment
amounting to torture (arts. 1, 2, 4, 12 and 16). The State party
should: (a) As a matter of
urgency, take immediate and effective measures to prevent acts of torture or
ill-treatment, including through public sensitization as well as the
announcement and adoption of a policy that would produce measurable results
in the eradication of torture or ill-treatment by State officials; (b) Promptly amend
its interrogation rules and procedures, such as introducing audio or
videotaping, with a view to preventing torture and ill-treatment; (c) Duly bring to
trial alleged perpetrators of acts of torture or ill-treatment and, if they
are found guilty, punish them with appropriate penalties which take into
account the grave nature of their acts. The EU’s Dirty
Hands Human Rights Watch,
21 September 2011 http://www.hrw.org/node/101671/section/2 [accessed 28 January
2013] Human Rights
Watch’s observations and the testimonies we gathered on detention conditions
in Evros in December 2010 were consistent with our
previous reports on conditions in Greek migrant detention centers dating from
2008 and those of other organizations which have been monitoring and
documenting the conditions of detention for migrants in Greece. In a January 2011 review of these reports
the ECtHR concluded: All the centers
visited by bodies and organizations that produced the reports … describe a
similar situation to varying degrees of gravity: overcrowding, dirt, lack of
ventilation, little or no possibility of taking a walk, no place to relax,
insufficient mattresses, no free access to toilets, inadequate sanitary
facilities, no privacy, limited access to care. Many of the people
interviewed also complained of insults, particularly racist insults,
proffered by staff and the use of physical violence by guards. AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 TORTURE AND OTHER
ILL-TREATMENT
- Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment against individuals
including members of vulnerable groups such as migrants and asylum-seekers
held in immigration detention persisted. Systemic problems leading to
impunity remained, including the authorities’ frequent failure to conduct
prompt, thorough and impartial investigations and to ensure the right to
effective remedy. In January, the European Court of Human Rights held that
the rape with a truncheon of an irregular migrant by a coastguard in May 2001
amounted to torture (Zontul v. Greece). In August,
the UN Human Rights Committee found that Greece failed to investigate the
complaint of ill-treatment and discrimination by the police of a Greek Romani
man in 1999 (Katsaris v. Greece). In March, a Mixed
Jury Appeal Court in Athens acquitted two police officers of causing bodily
harm under the provision against torture in the Criminal Code to two refugees
at the Aghios Panteleimon
police station, Athens, in December 2004. The officers had been found guilty
at first instance. In October, serious
allegations of torture of 15 anti-fascist protesters by police at the General
Police Directorate in Athens on 30 September came to light. Supporters of the
protesters, arrested on 1 October, also alleged that they were subjected to
treatment amounting to torture at the Directorate. The authorities denied the
allegations, but an investigating judge requested that the Public Prosecutor
bring criminal charges against the police officers involved in the human
rights violations of the protesters. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For current
articles:: Search Amnesty
International Website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=greece+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 2 January 1, 2019] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Council of Europe
anti-torture Committee publishes report on Greece Executive Summary, 9
April 2020 [accessed 31 May
2020] POLICE
ESTABLISHMENTS
-- The CPT has been highly critical about the treatment of criminal suspects
by elements of the Hellenic Police
and remains concerned
that, despite overwhelming indications
to the contrary,
the Greek authorities have to
date consistently refused to accept that police ill-treatment is a serious
problem in Greece. The findings of
the 2019 visit
indicate once again
that the infliction
of ill-treatment by the police, especially against
foreign nationals and
persons from the
Roma community, remains
a frequent practice throughout
Greece. The CPT’s delegation received a high number of credible allegations
of excessive use of
force and unduly
tight handcuffing upon
apprehension and of
physical and psychological ill-treatment
of criminal suspects during or in the context of police interviews. Alleged
ill-treatment mainly consisted of slaps, punches and kicks as well as blows
with truncheons and metal objects to the body and head. It also received some allegations involving
blows with a stick to the soles of the feet (falaka)
and the application of a plastic bag over the head during police interviews,
reportedly with the aim of obtaining a confession and a signed statement.
None of the persons who alleged ill-treatment had been allowed to make a
phone call or to contact a lawyer during their initial questioning by the
police. Further, a great number of allegations of verbal abuse of detained
persons was received, including of racist/xenophobic
remarks by police officers. Report to the Greek
Governmenton the visit to Greece carried out by the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 28 March to 9 April 2019 Council of Europe
COE, CPT/Inf (2020) 15, Strasbourg, 9 April 2020 [accessed 12 April
2020] 26. As was
the case during
the 2015 visit,
most prisoners met
by the delegation
made no complaints about
physical ill-treatment by staff. Indeed, in all the establishments visited, staff were quasi absent from the wings and there was
little contact between custodial officers and prisoners. The one exception
was Nigrita Prison, where the CPT’s delegation
received a number of concordant and credible allegations of physical
ill-treatment of foreign national prisoners by some prison officers supported by external
perimeter guards. For example, on Wing B2, several inmates of Algerian origin
alleged that during the most recent such incident, which occurred on 13
March2019following a fight between prisoners, they had been punched, kicked
and struck with plastic chairs, tables and a broomstick inside their cell by
staff. The inmates also alleged that they had been subjected to verbal abuse
and that the Chief Guard was present and had endorsed such behaviour. No official complaint was
made as the
inmates stated they
were afraid of
being sanctioned with
a transfer to another prison. In a further incident
from August 2018, four inmates interviewed separately recounted how they
had been taken
to the disciplinary unit
after an incident
on the wings,
forced to undress completely and subjected to punches
and kicks by three guards belonging to the perimeter staff. They stated that
they spent three
days naked in
the disciplinary cells
and that each
evening they were subjected to a similar beating. All
four were visibly afraid of reprisals by the staff and hence had not
attempted to make a complaint about the treatment they had suffered. There
was no proper record
keeping of actions by perimeter staff intervening in the prison. Council of Europe
anti-torture committee calls for the situation of psychiatric patients to be
improved, while criticising once again the poor
treatment of immigration detainees Council of Europe
2019 News, 19 February 2019 [accessed 17 May
2019] The report
highlights the systemic overcrowding in three of the five psychiatric
establishments visited (Evangelismos, Gennimatas and Sotiria), with
patients at Evangelismos being accommodated in the
corridors. In all five hospitals visited, the CPT is critical of the lack of
staff and over-reliance on pharmacotherapy, and the fact that patients were
offered few activities. Another concern is the widespread practice of
excessive and/or inappropriate use of mechanical restraint. The CPT also
received some isolated allegations of ill-treatment (punches, tight
restraints, and verbal abuse) by staff at the private “Athina
Vrilissa” Psychiatric Clinic. Further, at Korydallos Prison Psychiatric Hospital, it found that the
use of the basement protection cells for the seclusion of patients without
supervision and for extended periods could easily be considered inhuman and
degrading. Moreover, safeguards surrounding involuntary placement procedures
were found to be insufficient in law and practice. Greece:
Anti-torture report highlights “totally unacceptable” detention conditions Council of Europe,
16 Oct 2014 [accessed 21 November
2014] The Council of
Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) reports today that “the problem of
ill-treatment by the police appears to be growing and there is little
evidence that allegations of ill-treatment are investigated promptly and
thoroughly, leading to some police officers believing they can act with
impunity.” The report’s
summary describes the “totally unacceptable conditions in which irregular
migrants are held in police establishments all over the country for prolonged
periods.” The CPT called upon
the Greek authorities to take “urgent steps to transfer detained irregular
migrants to specially designed centres and to no
longer hold them in police stations. The conditions of detention at the Port
Authority of Igoumenitsa are also criticised. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61651.htm [accessed 28 January
2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61651.htm [accessed 4 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
however, security forces abused a few persons, particularly immigrants and
Roma (see section 5). At year's end no
date had been set for the trial of two police officers charged with
subjecting a group of Afghan asylum seekers in December 2004 to interrogation
techniques that allegedly included torture. There were no developments in
either the civil lawsuit against three officers or the police investigation
of allegations by two Kalamata high school students that police beat them
during a routine identity check in 2003. Likewise, there were no developments
in the 2003 cases of two British citizens who alleged that police beat them
or of three migrants who alleged police tortured them when they attempted to
return to Albania. In a letter to the
Ministry of Public Order (MPO) made public in January, the deputy ombudsman
for human rights noted numerous procedural and substantive shortcomings in the
investigation concerning the alleged police torture in 2002 of Nigerian
citizen Joseph Okeke and the alleged 2002 beating
and torture of Yannis Papacostas
in a police station near Athens. The deputy ombudsman called the police to
re-evaluate its report on Okeke, arguing that the
procedure suffered from gross errors concerning the evaluation and appraisal
of the available evidence. At year's end an application based on this case
was pending with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) alleging violation
of the article in the European Convention on Human Rights that prohibits
torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In December the
ECHR ordered the government to pay a fine of $12 thousand (10 thousand euros)
to each of 2 Roma men for inhuman and degrading treatment by police in Mesolonghi in 1998. According to forensics reports,
police severely beat the men during interrogation after arresting them for
allegedly breaking into a kiosk. The country was found to be in violation of
the European Convention on Human Rights for failure to conduct an effective
investigation into an incident with possible racist motives, a violation of
the procedural provision against racial discrimination. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
Greece", http://gvnet.com/torture/Greece.htm, [accessed <date>] |
