Greek prison conditions 'overcrowded, dangerous, poor': Council of Europe

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published a report on Greek prisons on September 2, 2022.

The CPT wrote that "far too many prisoners in Greece continue to be held in conditions which represent an affront to their human dignity."

The report, drawn from a 10-day visit to five Greek prisons at the end of 2021, found "poor detention conditions, inter-prisoner violence, severe understaffing, and inadequate health care provision", the organisation said.

The CPT decided to revisit Greek prisons because "The response of the Greek authorities to the CPT’s 2019 visit report did not reassure the Committee that concrete steps were being taken to address the very significant deficiencies raised in that report.

"Further, there appeared to be no strategic plan, with clearly defined goals and benchmarks, to tackle the systematic shortcomings of the Greek prison system as identified by the CPT."

The Council of Europe's committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman treatment visited five correctional facilities between November 22 and December 1, 2021 –– Greece's largest prison Korydallos, Nigrita and jails on the islands of Chios, Corfu and Kos.

At the time, Greece's prison population stood at 11,182 for a maximum capacity of 10,175, an occupancy rate of 110 percent on average, the report noted.

Overcrowding was far more severe in some prisons.

Of 34 correctional facilities, 24 were over the limit. Fifteen had an occupancy rate of above 130 percent, the report said.

Korydallos prison, which holds hardened criminals and convicted far-left terrorists and has housed members of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, had an occupancy rate of 152 percent, the report said.

In a response to the council, the Greek government said it would transfer some 600 inmates to less congested prison farms and was in the process of building additional jails.

Greek authorities also noted that reintegration and teaching initiatives for inmates had been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts to reduce the inmate population in Greece have proved controversial in the past.

The previous left-wing government introduced a law in 2015 that released around 10,000 offenders in the space of two years. The measure has been consistently criticised by conservative groups as contributing to the crime rate.

THUMBNAIL IMAGE:  In this Nov. 21, 2014 file photo, a prisoner in Korydallos Prison watches a pigeon fly in western Athens. (AP/Petros Giannakouris)

HEADLINE IMAGE: In this Nov. 21, 2014 file photo a police officer stands guard at Korydallos Prison, in western Athens. (AP/Petros Giannakouris)