A/HRC/45/16/Add.1 community, and should have access to necessary health-care services free of charge without discrimination. 54. Having visited detention facilities related to the criminal justice system, including police stations and prisons, the Working Group concludes that, currently, they do not generally meet international standards, particularly the Nelson Mandela Rules, owing to overcrowding, lack of adequate cleaning and sanitary services, and inadequate or nonexistent health services. The lack of satisfactory conditions of detention often affects a detainee’s ability to participate in the criminal proceedings and to present an effective defence and appeal.6 It is therefore important for the Government to address the conditions within detention facilities as a matter of priority. 9. Monitoring of places of detention 55. In accordance with article 6 of the Penitentiary Code, all detainees are being informed on their admission to the detention facility about their rights and the possible ways to address any violation. The Working Group identified, however, a general lack of awareness among detainees as to how to submit a complaint in relation to their detention and the conditions in which they were held. There is no visible mechanism in places of deprivation of liberty, such as a telephone number or relevant contact details, to present claims to the Greek Ombudsman on violations of human rights. Many detainees also reported that there were few visits, if any, to their places of detention by relevant monitoring mechanisms. The Working Group urges Greece to consider establishing a hotline for reporting in the prisons, taking into account the need for confidentiality of complaints; to display information about the hotline throughout the prisons; and to provide sufficient funding for regular and independent monitoring and oversight of places of detention. B. Detention of persons in the context of migration 56. The Working Group recognizes the challenges involved in respecting international human rights standards in the current context of mass migration into the country and the arrival of large numbers of people seeking international protection. Following the closure of the borders along the Balkan corridor and the adoption of the statement by the European Union and Turkey in March 2016, the administrative detention of migrants has significantly increased. In 2017, 68,112 persons were arrested for illegal entry or stay in Greece, 93,367 persons in 2018, and 123,710 persons in 2019. On 1 May 2020, 3,250 persons were in detention in pre-removal detention centres, while 2,329 of them were under asylum procedures. In addition, the total number of persons detained in facilities under the competence of the Hellenic Police was 1,085. 57. The Working Group visited 11 facilities in which asylum seekers could be deprived of their liberty, including police stations, border guard stations and cells maintained by the Hellenic Coast Guard, reception and identification centres and pre-removal detention centres. It identified problems that could lead to arbitrary and prolonged deprivation of liberty, including inadequate individual assessment of the appropriateness and necessity of detention, and detention in inappropriate facilities such as police stations. Equally, the Working Group identified gaps in the provision of interpretation and legal aid, resulting in lack of access to judicial remedies against detention decisions. It notes with particular concern the policy of geographical restriction on the movement of asylum seekers from the islands and the lack of awareness among asylum seekers of the consequences of breaching this restriction, namely placement in detention. 1. Right to seek asylum 58. According to the Government, the Hellenic Police has been given clear orders to respect the right of detainees to submit an application for international protection and to 6 10 Opinion No. 52/2018, para. 79 (j), and E/CN.4/2004/3/Add.3, para. 33.

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents