The facts of the case relate to an Iranian national who notwithstanding the lodging of an asylum application had been detained at both Feres and Soufli border posts following an order of expulsion and an assessment that he risked absconding.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the detention of an unaccompanied minor at Feres and Soufli border posts for over 5 months constituted a breach of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as well as a violation of the right to an effective remedy and the right to liberty and security.
The European Court of Human Rights has again confirmed that the conditions of detention in Thermi border police station and Thessaloniki immigration police station breached the prohibition of inhumane treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights for a Turkish national who was he
In line with a consistent pattern of ECtHR judgments condemning Greece for detention conditions which amount to a violation of Article 3 ECHR, the Court has again found that the detention of a Bangladeshi national in an alien’s police department for 71 days in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions constituted a violation of Article 3.
In a ruling which aligns itself to many of the Court’s previous judgments concerning reception and detention conditions in Greece (notably S.D. v. Greece, no 53541/07,M.S.S. v.
In a case which concerned an Iranian national, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the conditions of various detention centres in Greece, where the applicant was placed, along with the living conditions after his release, constituted degrading treatment and thus a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECtHR has held that the living conditions in both the premises of the Thessaloniki immigration police station and the Attica immigration department (Petrou Ralli detention centre) in Greece amounted to degrading treatment, thus triggering a breach of Article 3 (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the ECHR. However, the ECtHR ruled that Greece had not breached Mr. Tatishvili’s rights to liberty and security (Article 5 para 1) nor a meaningful or effective remedy with which to challenge the lawfulness of his detention (Article 5 para 4.)
Foreign nationals in Greece who refuse to cooperate with their deportation can be lawfully detained pending removal for longer than the maximum of 18 months permitted by the EU Returns Directive, according to an Opinion published on 20 March 2014 by the Greek State Legal Council. The Opinion has reportedly been approved by the Minister, allowing the police to implement the policy.
During a speech this week, Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, urged EU Member States to do more for refugees, especially those fleeing Syria, and live up to their obligations under international law.
