CASES OF DOUGOZ AGAINST GREECE AND PEERS AGAINST GREECE

Interim Resolution ResDH(2005)21

concerning the issue of conditions of detention in Greece,
raised in the cases of Dougoz against Greece (judgment of 6 March 2001, final on 6 June 2001)
and Peers against Greece
(judgment of 19 April 2001)

(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 7 April 2005,
at the 922nd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”);

Having regard to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Dougoz (judgment of 6 March 2001) and Peers (judgment of 19 April 2001) transmitted to the Committee of Ministers under Article 46 of the Convention for the supervision of their execution;

Recalling that these cases primarily concern the violations by Greece of Article 3 of the Convention due to degrading treatments suffered by the applicants, a Syrian and a British national respectively, during their detention in police detention centres or in a prison, in 1997-1998 and in 1994 respectively;

Recalling, in particular, that these violations were due to the serious overcrowding and absence of sleeping facilities, combined with the inordinate length of the period of detention in such conditions in the Dougoz case and to poor sanitary conditions of the applicant’s detention (no natural light or ventilation, absence of adequate toilet facilities) diminishing the applicant’s human dignity in the Peers case;

Recalling furthermore that the Court also found in the case of Dougoz violations of Article 5 of the Convention on account of the applicant’s unlawful detention pending expulsion and of the lack of judicial review of lawfulness of this detention; and in the case of Peers, a violation of Article 8 of the Convention due to the opening by prison administration of the applicant’s correspondence with the former European Commission of Human Rights;

Recalling that the obligation of all member states to abide by the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in accordance with Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention involves an obligation to adopt rapidly the individual measures necessary to erase the consequences of the violations of the applicants’ rights, as well as to adopt without delay general measures to prevent the recurrence of violations similar to those found by the Court;

Stressing that the need to adopt such measures in the present cases is of particular concern in view of the nature of the violations of Article 3, revealing structural shortcomings in the Greek penitentiary system capable of leading to a number of new similar violations;

Drawing attention in this connection to the Committee’s Recommendations and Declaration aimed at ensuring the long-term effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights and improving the execution of its judgments (see, in particular, Rec(2004)4 to member states on the European Convention on Human Rights in university education and professional training and Rec(2004)6 on the improvement of domestic remedies);

Bearing also in mind the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation R(99)22 to the member states concerning prison overcrowding and prison population inflation, which contains in its Appendix particularly helpful guidelines to all member states;

Noting the information provided by Greece on the general measures taken or envisaged in response to the Court’s judgments so as effectively to prevent new violations as those found in the present cases;

Welcoming the comprehensive legislative, regulatory and infrastructure measures adopted or being taken by Greece to improve the conditions of detention in both police facilities and prisons and also the professional training efforts undertaken;

Noting with satisfaction, in particular, the rapid measures adopted in respect of the detention facilities at issue in the present judgments;

Considering, however, that further measures are called for in this field to remedy the structural problems highlighted by the present judgments, thus preventing new, similar violations of Article 3 on account of detention conditions in Greece;

INVITES the competent Greek authorities, in particular the Ministry of Public Order and the Ministry of Justice, to continue and intensify their efforts to align the conditions of detention with the requirements of the Convention as set out in particular in the Court’s judgments and to look into the question of ensuring the availability of effective domestic remedies;

ENCOURAGES in particular the Greek authorities rapidly to conclude the projects relating to the construction of new detention centres and prisons as reported to the Committee of Ministers;

INVITES the Greek government to keep the Committee informed of the implementation of these projects and of the practical effects of the measures adopted, in particular by providing statistics relating to the overcrowding and sanitary and health conditions in detention facilities;

DECIDES to examine at one of its meetings, not later than October 2006, further progress achieved in the adoption of the general measures necessary effectively to prevent this kind of violations of the Convention.

APPENDIX

to Interim Resolution ResDH(2005)21

Information supplied by the Government of Greece

during the consideration of the cases of Dougoz and Peers

by the Committee of Ministers

I. General measures in respect of the detention centres at issue

The Government recalls that in the case of Dougoz, the applicant was a foreign national who had been detained in two police detention centres (Drapetsona, Piraeus, and Alexandras Avenue, Athens, Police Headquarters) awaiting his expulsion, while, in the case of Peers, the applicant was also a foreign national, detained on remand in, inter alia, the segregation unit of the Delta Wing of Koridallos prison.

With regard to the police detention centres and the prison in question in these cases, the Government notes that: the Alexandras Avenue Police Headquarters is no longer used for the detention of aliens awaiting expulsion; also, the Drapetsona police detention centre has been refurbished to create the best possible conditions of hygiene and decent living for detainees; finally, with regard to Koridallos prison, the biggest prison in Greece, necessary maintenance work is carried out there on a regular basis.

 II. Measures adopted to improve detention conditions in police detention centres

In order to avoid new, similar violations of the Convention, Greece has adopted more comprehensive legislative, regulatory and infrastructural measures.

 A. Legislative and administrative reforms

New Code of Practice for Policemen

On 3 December 2004 Presidential Decree 254/2004 was promulgated containing the first Code of Practice for Policemen, which in particular obliges all policemen to:

(a)Facilitate the access of persons in police detention to legal aid, to their relatives and, in cases of aliens, to their consular authorities;

(b)Maintain detention conditions guaranteeing the safety, health and protection of the detainees’ human dignity and to look to the separation of criminals from other detainees, men from women, minors from adults;

(c)Take care of detainees’ health and to make sure that in cases of emergency medical aid is promptly provided;

(d)Prevent and promptly report, inter alia, any action that constitutes torture or another form of inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.

 Shortening detention prior to expulsion or deportation

 As regards in particular aliens subject to expulsion or deportation as in the case of Dougoz, since the delivery of the European Court’s judgments, coordinated efforts have been made by the competent authorities to shorten these persons’ detention. In particular:

(a)Diplomatic authorities are notified for the issue of passports and, when required, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is requested to intervene with the consular authorities in Greece or the competent diplomatic authorities abroad;

(b)In cases where, for different reasons, the issue of a passport by a consulate is not possible, and provided that the other conditions are met (air connection, agreement of an airline), the foreign citizen is provided with a Greek travel document for departure, as provided for by law;

(c)Following the entry into force of Immigration Law 2910/2001 (Article 44, paragraph 3), detention may never exceed three months.

(d)The regularisation procedures, since 1998, for illegal immigrants in Greece have substantially eased the overcrowding of detention facilities because many were released to submit their requests provided they met the conditions of the law.

 B. Renovation and construction of new police detention facilities

The Hellenic Police Force Command has given specific instructions to all police services of the country for the refurbishment and maintenance of all detention facilities operating in public and privately leased buildings, as well as for the upgrading of existing detention facilities and the construction of future ones, so as to secure satisfactory detention, taking into account the European Court’s judgment in the case of Peers and the recommendations made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).

Moreover, new detention facilities have been built at many police stations, including the Athens airport and the police stations of Soufli, Egaleo, Ioannina and Ferres (Evros). A modern building is also currently under construction at Petrou Ralli Street, Athens (Attica Immigration Centre, of 25,000m²).

In accordance with Article 48 of Immigration Law 2910/2001, seven new detention centres for aliens subject to deportation or expulsion have also been created in eastern border areas of the country.

 II. Measures adopted for the improvement of conditions of detention in prisons

A. Legislative reform

Subsequent to the facts in these cases, a new Prison Code entered into force on 24 December 1999 (Law 2776/1999), which codifies all laws previously in force and further enacts a number of progressive provisions with regard to the improvement of living conditions in prisons, the education and professional training of inmates, conditional release and social rehabilitation, having as its aim to prevent inhuman treatment of prisoners in Greek prisons and, thus, violations similar to those found in the case of Peers. It also aims to improve relations between prisoners and penitentiary personnel, and to achieve the best administration of prisons and their effective supervision by the prosecutors and supervisors.

This Code has enacted the following major general regulations:

(a)It establishes three new councils which take care of the prisoners’ problems: the three-member Prison Board, the five-member Labour Board for prisoners, and the Disciplinary Board which also handles matters related to the leave of prisoners;

(b)It facilitates prisoners’ social rehabilitation after their release from prison through the creation of Epanodos, a private-law legal body, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice;

(c)It regulates the system of “work credits”, whereby a prisoner who works may decrease the duration of imprisonment;

(d)It significantly expands the circle of persons who may be entitled to visit a prisoner, other than those already provided for by the Code, subject to the authorisation of the Prison Board;

(e)It establishes that prisoners may work for their own account, either in the prison or outside it;

(f)It introduces semi-liberty centres, which will become fully operational once the first of the nine new prisons under construction is finished. The prisoners are thereby given the opportunity, if they fulfil the necessary requirements, to attend courses outside the prisons corresponding to all degrees of education;

(g)It amends the composition and the functions of the Central Advisory Board on Prisons, a special advisory body to the Ministry of Justice. The membership of the Board has been increased to 11, as follows: five members of the academic teaching staff of the Greek higher education institutes (mainly lawyers); an expert in penitentiary, criminal or constitutional law; an expert in penology, prisoner psychology or the treatment of drug addicts; a district attorney to the Court of Appeal; the director general of penitentiary policy; the head of the supervision directorate; the health control inspector and the head of the social work service of the Ministry, all for a three‑year term in office.

Furthermore, the 1999 Prison Code contains the following major specific provisions:

(a)In the case of an illegal action or order against prisoners, the latter are entitled to address a written complaint to the Prison Board. Every letter or report is transmitted by the prison director within a period of three days; its content is confidential and it is kept in a special protocol book (Art. 6);

(b)Young prisoners who attend continuous educational or vocational training programmes are allowed to remain in juvenile detention centres until the age of 25 (Art. 12);

(c)Women offenders with young children are permitted to keep their children with them until the age of 3, in a separate area of the prison (Art. 13);

(d)Special attention is provided for persons detained on remand in matters of medical treatment (Art. 15);

(e)Besides the obligatory medical examination upon arrival at the prison, a medical examination is made every six months, or whenever a prisoner requests one (Art. 27);

(f)The prisoner, or his/her legal representative, as well as the supervising district attorney and the competent prison administration may, if required, have access to the prisoner’s medical file (Art. 28);

(g)Any kind of medical or similar experiments on prisoners is prohibited, even if they consent thereto. Also, the confidentiality of their medical files is ensured (Art. 29);

(h)Particular attention is given to prisoners’ active participation in individual or artistic events and the creative use of their time, with a view to granting them special benefits (Art. 38);

(i)Under the responsibility of the prison director, a post box of the Greek postal service is kept in a place accessible to prisoners, and the timely sending and delivery of cables or registered letters from and to prisoners is ensured (Art. 53);

(j)A prisoner whose sentence has been commuted to a fine may ask the court to allow him or her to serve part of the sentence in prison (Arts. 63 and 64);

(k)As far as disciplinary proceedings for petty (“A” class offences) are concerned, the presence of a lawyer during these proceedings is permitted (Art. 66);

(l)A disciplinary petty offence is time-barred after six months following its commission (Art. 68);

(m)Disciplinary penalties are not taken into account for the granting of regular leave and conditional release (Art. 69).

B. Construction of new prisons

There has been a long-term project of the Ministry of Justice for the improvement of detention conditions in prisons, especially for the elimination of overcrowding, a problem compounded in recent years by the presence of foreign national offenders, since nearly half of the prisoners are aliens of nearly 100 nationalities. Thus, although space is available for 5,300 prisoners, the inmate population stands at 8,600.

One of the most important ways of fighting overpopulation is the construction of new prisons, which will fulfil all requirements of secure living conditions for prisoners, and meet their needs in education and vocational training, with modern dormitories, classrooms, workshops, entertainment, etc. The Ministry of Justice has prepared, for that purpose, a building project for the construction of 17 new prisons in various regions of Greece and of 2 rehabilitation centres for drug addicts. The more than 3,000 places that will be added to those already existing will effectively put an end to the overcrowding of prisons and its consequences, once all the prisons under construction are completed.

Two of these buildings have been completed and are operative: the prison of Malandrinos and the centre for drug-addict rehabilitation in Eleona (Thebes). The first has a capacity of 280 inmates and is now operating in modern premises. The second is now also ready for operation, with the same capacity and with specialised personnel for drug addicts.

III. Other general measures adopted in response to the judgments

As regards the violations in the Dougoz case of Article 5, paragraphs 1 and 4, on account of the applicant’s unlawful detention pending expulsion and of the lack of judicial review of lawfulness of this detention, an Inter-ministerial Decision 137954 (OJHR B 1255/16.10.2000) was issued under Aliens Law 1975/1991 to regulate aliens’ detention and expulsion following a court order. According to this Inter‑ministerial Decision, which expressly refers to Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the lawfulness of aliens’ detention pending their expulsion ordered by a court may henceforth be challenged before a public prosecutor and courts.

As regards the violation of Article 8 in the Peers case, the Penitentiary Code introduced by Law 2776/1999 may now be regarded as providing sufficient safeguards for the protection of prisoners’ correspondence. Its Article 53, paragraph 4, expressly forbids monitoring of prisoners’ correspondence and any other form of communication, unless such monitoring is justified by reasons relating to national security or the examination of specially serious crimes. Article 53, paragraph 7 provides that in case where any kind of restriction of correspondence or communication is imposed, prisoners may appeal to the competent judge, in accordance with Law 2225/1994 on freedom of correspondence and communication.

Conclusion

The Greek government believes that all the above measures demonstrate its determination and the strenuous efforts that it has already made with a view to bringing the conditions of detention in Greece and procedural safeguards for the detainees fully in line with Convention requirements, as set out in the Court’s judgments. The Greek authorities will continue to adopt measures to that effect and will keep the Committee of Ministers informed of all new developments, and in particular of the practical implications of the measures adopted.

Full & Egal Universal Law Academy