Country

Greece

Detention issue

Protection against violence

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Penitentiary Code (Σωφρονιστικός Κώδικας)Prisoners are separated in categories on the basis of, among others the severity of the crime they have committed, as well as their particular characteristics (such as their sex or their age) which may render them vulnerable during detention. Violence, threat of violence, and sexual violence, besides potentially giving rise to autonomous criminal proceedings, constitute serious disciplinary offences which may be punished with confinement in disciplinary cells, transfer to a different facility, a ban from participating in prison work schemes or vocational training for a year, or 'penalty points'. Generalised violence is dealt with through measures ordered by the supervising prosecutor, or in cases of emergency, by the director or the warden of the facilities, in collaboration with police forces.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2018The NPM in its annual special report of 2018 noted that the recording of a significant number of incidents of violence has raised its considerable concern and stressed the inadequate handling of incidents of violence amongst detainees. Especially as regards the adequacy of security measures, the recording of a significant number of deaths and incidents of violence has raised considerable concern… In this context, during the inspections, there was a thorough control carried out on the entries in the Injury Logs. In 2018, this initiative was carried out in seven cases…However, to date the practice of making specific inquiries has not led to useful conclusions, since the competent administrations of detention centres, in their generally succinct and descriptive responses, confine themselves to the constant and formal assurance that the service has taken every humanly possible preventive measure, with the reservation that the provision of further information will only be possible after the completion of the administrative inquiries and/or criminal investigations. It is therefore obvious that the common and rather general features of individual cases necessitate not only the vital ex-post investigation of incidents such as those mentioned above, but, above all, that care be taken to prevent them. Finally, because of the lack of experts amongst its staff members and, as a consequence, the NPM’s inability to fully understand and use the coroner and medical reports, there is a need for external collaborators, especially from University medical schools…On the occasion of reports of detainees within the framework of the Ombudsman's general competence, the NPM in 2018 sought special information on how incidents of violence among detainees are being dealt with in terms of collecting medical files and through further disciplinary and criminal investigations, focusing on the increased responsibility of the State for ensuring the life, physical integrity and dignity of the detainees, and on the other hand the need to encourage victims to exercise their rights via complaints. The problem was highlighted in the Domokos Detention Facility, where the complaints of at least two detainees were fully confirmed, but the entries in the Injury Book were incomplete and inconsistent with the hospital transits, and the prosecuting authorities were informed by the Administration only when the victim wanted to file an allegation, which the prisoner was de facto discouraged from doing. In contrast, at the Nafplio Detention Facility, in spite of staff claims of difficulty in finding proof because witnesses are reluctant and the cameras are not working adequately, it seems that the prison disciplinary council tries to investigate incidents of violence thoroughly. Report details
2019Corinth detention facility: Some detainees said certain guards were responsible for incidents of physical violence, threats, indecent expressions, hate speech and retaliation. This explained the re-opening of the solitary confinement area that went against the directive of the competent Ministry and the good practice of the administration until recently Report details