MOSCOW, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Council of Europe's anti-torture committee has denounced the ill-treatment of irregular migrants, prisoners and minors in detention centers across Greece, a report published on the council's website Thursday said.
"The findings of the 2013 visit demonstrate clearly that the situation in respect of the three areas … remains dire. Irregular migrants continue to be held in police establishments for prolonged periods in totally unacceptable conditions," the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) said in its report.
The CPT published the report after visiting Greece in 2013 and issuing a statement on the ill-treatment of irregular migrants in the country's detention centers. It stated that the situation has not improved since then.
The council says it appealed to the Greek government to take measures to house irregular migrants in specially designated centers rather than police stations. In one such station, the council noted, two female migrants were held in the dark in a derelict basement.
In the statement, the council also reported about the unfavorable conditions in which unaccompanied minors are held. The Amygadelza facility in Athens, the council urged, should not be used as a detention center for minors since it does not support them both materially and morally.
"No educational or purposeful activities were offered to the juveniles and many did not possess adequate clothing or proper footwear," the report stated.
Describing the conditions in which prisoners are held throughout Greece, the council reported that the issue of overcrowding has not yet registered a lasting effect. Besides, it said that the issue of hygiene, shortage of health workers as well as prison staff, which contributes to more powerful prisoners abusing their inmates, remain acute in such establishments.
"Prisons are excessively overcrowded and understaffed and many establishments are, in practice, reduced to a warehousing role. … In all the police and border guard facilities visited, detained persons complained about the challenge of keeping themselves clean. … As regards the staffing of the detention areas in police and border guard stations, the CPT continues to advocate for the establishment of posts of specialised custodial staff with full responsibility for detained persons, including medical and legal oversight," the report added.
According to the CPT, the authorities in Greece have issued a response to the report in which they stated they are doing everything to ameliorate the situation in the country's detention centers.
