DAIS AND OTHERS v. GREECE

THIRD SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 21051/15
Christos DAIS and Others against Greece
and 2 other applications
(see list appended)

The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting on 13 May 2025 as a Committee composed of:

 Peeter Roosma, President,
 Lətif Hüseynov,
 Darian Pavli, judges,
and Olga Chernishova, Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to:

the applications against the Hellenic Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by the applicants listed in the appended table (“the applicants”), on the various dates indicated therein;

the decision to give notice of the complaints concerning Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention to the Greek Government (“the Government”) represented by their Agent, Ms N. Marioli, President of the State Legal Council and their Agent’s delegates Mrs K. Nasopoulou, Senior Adviser, and K. Karavasili and S. Papaioannou, Legal Representatives at the State Legal Council, and to declare inadmissible the remainder of the applications indicated as a partial decision in the appended table;

the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicants;

the withdrawal of Mr Ioannis Ktistakis, the judge elected in respect of Greece, from sitting in case no. 21051/15 (Rule 28 § 3 of the Rules of Court);

noting that the Governments of the applicants’ nationality (where applicable) have not made use of their right to intervene in the proceedings (Article 36 § 1 of the Convention);

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

1.  The present case concerns the applicants’ conditions of detention in Grevena prison. Their periods of detention are listed in the appended table.

2.  The applicants complained of overcrowding (between 2 and 2,4 sq.m. available per prisoner), insufficient medical care (applicants nos. 1, 13, 17, 23, 29 and 31 of application no. 3694/16), insufficient heating, hygiene problems, lack of prison staff to guarantee their safety and insufficient quality and quantity of food and recreational activities.

3.  According to the Government, the personal space available per prisoner ranged between 3,25 and 4,3 sq. m. for ordinary cells, and between 5,02 and 11,04 sq. m. for disciplinary cells. The prison provided the services of a medical practitioner who visited twice per week, as well as a dentist and a psychiatrist. Applicants nos. 1, 13, 17, 23, 29 and 31 in application no. 3694/16 received adequate medical care, as demonstrated by the relevant supporting documents. They further indicated that there was sufficient heating and cleanliness, the weekly menu was approved by the prison doctor, and the prison was equipped with a library, a reading and entertainment room, as well as a gym.

THE COURT’S ASSESSMENT

4.  Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single decision.

5.  On 19 January 2017 Mr Lytridis, applicant no. 10 in application no. 5621/16, informed the Court that he no longer wished to pursue his application. The Government submitted no comments in that regard.

6.  The Court takes note of the fact that this applicant no longer wishes to pursue his application (Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention). Furthermore, in accordance with Article 37 § 1 in fine, it finds no special circumstances regarding respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto which require the continued examination of the application. Accordingly, this part of the application no. 5621/16 should be struck out in accordance with Article 37 § 1 (a) of the Convention of the list of cases.

7.  The Government argued that the case should be declared inadmissible due to non-exhaustion of domestic remedies regarding some of the applicants (nos. 1, 3, 4, 9, 14, 21, 27, 29 and 31 in application no. 3694/16, and nos. 6, 8, 12 and 15 in application no. 5621/16). The applicants disagreed.

8.  The Court does not find it necessary to address the Government’s objection regarding the non-exhaustion of domestic remedies nor to examine the entirety of the parties’ arguments, as the complaint is in any event inadmissible for the following reasons.

9.  The Court notes at the outset that the applicants referred, among different aspects of inappropriate physical conditions of detention, to insufficient medical care. It reiterates that any complaint relating to inappropriate medical treatment in detention should normally include, among other things, sufficient reference to the medical condition in question, medical prescriptions that were sought, made or refused, and some evidence – for example, expert reports – capable of disclosing serious failings in the applicant’s medical care (see Krivolapov v. Ukraine, no. 5406/07, § 76, 2 October 2018, with further reference). In the absence of such elements provided by the applicants in the present case, the Court will not take into account this part of the complaint in its overall assessment of their conditions of detention (see, for a similar approach, Zabelos and Others v. Greece, no. 1167/15, § 77, 17 May 2018).

10.  The Court refers to the principles established in its case-law regarding inadequate conditions of detention (see Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, §§ 96-101, 20 October 2016).

11.  Turning to the material conditions of detention prevailing in Grevena prison, the Court has found on numerous occasions that they did not amount to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention, having examined grievances similar to those raised in the present case and concerning similar periods of time (see Konstantinopoulos and Others v. Greece, no 69781/13, §§ 46-54, 28 January 2016; Kalandia v. Greece, no. 48684/15, §§ 71-72, 6 October 2016; Koureas and Others v. Greece, no 30030/15, §§ 66-74, 18 January 2018; G.T. v. Greece , no 37830/16, §§ 48-59, 13 December 2022; Chaniotis and Others v. Greece [Committee] (dec.), §§ 73‑93, 11 December 2018; and Arfan and Others v. Greece [Committee] (dec.), no. 33352/15, §§ 47-70, 28 September 2021).

12.  In the present case, the applicants complain of the general conditions of detention without explaining how they were individually affected by them (see Konstantinopoulos and Others, § 52; Koureas and Others, § 73; and Chaniotis and Others, § 91, all cited above). In these circumstances, the Court does not see any reason to reach a different conclusion as regards the general conditions of detention prevailing in Grevena prison. It follows that the above-mentioned conditions of detention did not exceed the unavoidable level of suffering inherent in detention and did not constitute degrading treatment.

13.  Accordingly, the complaint should be declared inadmissible as manifestly ill-founded according to Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

14.  The Court reiterates that Article 13 requires domestic remedies only with regard to complaints arguable in terms of the Convention (see Boyle and Rice v. the United Kingdom, 27 April 1988, § 52, Series A no. 131). Since the Court has found that the applicants’ complaints relating to the general conditions of their detention are manifestly ill-founded (see paragraph 13 above), no issue under Article 13 of the Convention arises in their cases.

15.  It follows that the complaints under Article 13 are also manifestly ill‑founded and must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 (a) and 4 of the Convention.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to join the applications;

Decides to strike application no. 5621/16 out of its list regarding applicant no. 10;

Declares the remainder of the applications inadmissible.

Done in English and notified in writing on 5 June 2025.

 Olga Chernishova Peeter Roosma
 Deputy Registrar President

Appendix

List of cases:

No.

Application no.

Case name

Lodged on

Applicant
Year of Birth
Place of Residence
Nationality

Period of detention

Represented by

1.

21051/15

Dais and Others v. Greece

28/04/2015

1. Christos DAIS
1970
Thessaloniki
Greek
08/09/2014-21/05/2015

2. Mohammed ABDELUAHEND
1961
Athens
Egyptian

09/04/2012-11/05/2015

3. Rabee AL AHMAD AL MOLHIM
1987
Athens
Syrian

08/08/2011-27/05/2015

4. Theodoros ARGIROPOULOS
1973
Veria
Greek

14/06/2013-07/05/2015

5. Artemis BAKOPOULOS
1969
Athens
Greek

07/01/2014-

 

6. Vasilios BAKOPOULOS
1981
Athens
Greek

17/02/2014-30/04/2015
 

7. Gentian BARAJ
1979
Grevena
Albanian

18/06/2012-

8. Roni BIZHOTI
1986
Fieri Apollonia
Albanian

15/04/2013-

9. Kujtim-Buzani-Bashkim DEMIRI
1971
Grevena
Albanian

16/07/2012-

10. Stavros DIMOPOULOS
1973
Florina
Greek
16/07/2010-

11. Erald HOXHA
1991
Mikonos
Albanian

13/02/2014-13/05/2015

 

12. Ferdinand IDRIZI
1978
Grevena
Albanian

15/05/2014-

13. Shahid IMRAN
1982
Athens
Pakistani

02/05/2013-

14. Daniel IONESCU
1984
Grevena
Romanian

05/11/2009-
 

15. Noman JANJUA
1983
Athens
Pakistani

11.04.2013-

16. Blaceri KASTRIOT
1975
Ksanthi
Albanian

15/12/2011-

17. Egkin KIAZIMOGLOU
1986
Ksanthi
Greek

09/05/2011-

 

18. Ioannis KOULOURIS
1959
Rafina
Greek

28/07/2008-11/05/2015

19. Alberto MEDOLLI
1991
Elbasan
Albanian

24/07/2014-

20. Dajlan METAJ
1988
Athens
Albanian

17/03/2014-

 

21. Evaggelos MINADAKIS
1976
Rethimno
Greek

31/01/2011

22. Suakat Ali MOLLAH MD
1980
Athens
Bangladeshi

17/04/2012-

23. Gezim MURATI
1971
Saranda
Albanian
17/04/2012-

24. Arjan OJOLI OR OXHOLLI OR HOTSOLA
1979
Grevena
Albanian

13/05/2011-

25. Michail PAPPAS
1960
Athens
Greek

28/07/2014

26. Ion Adrian RADU
1977
Grevena
Romanian

03/11/2011-12/05/2015

 

27. Endrid RUZI
1985
Athens
Albanian

12/08/2013-05/05/2015

28. Dimitrios SAMARAS
1979
Veria
Greek

05/12/2013-06/07/2015

29. Mahmood TAREK
1980
Grevena
Pakistani

29/03/2012-

 

30. Andrea VASO
1958

Athens
Albanian

11/06/2012-19/06/2015

31. Shaban VEIZI
1964
Grevena
Albanian

19/09/2011-

32. Behar VOJA
1978
Tirana
Albanian

10/11/2014-25/07/2015

Konstantinos TSITSELIKIS

2.

3694/16*

Ananiadis and Others v. Greece

23/12/2015

1. Nougzar ANANIADIS
1978
Thessaloniki
Greek

04/08/2011-10/11/2015

2. Victor ANGHEL
1982
Grevena
Romanian
08/04/2013-06/07/2016

3. Shpetim-Shptim ARAPI
1985
Grevena
Albanian
04/08/2015-26/08/2015

4. Levan ARJANIDIS
1981
Grevena
Greek

02/04/2015-25/08/2015
 

5. Eleftherios CHATOUTSIDIS
1985
Grevena
Greek

24/02/2015-

6. Siaka DIRRASOUBA
1983
Grevena
Ivoirian

10/09/2015-
 

7. Abdul Rajak FAJIR
1980
Grevena
Iraqi

06/12/2012-05/01/2016

8. Lampros GAKIS
1972

Grevena
Greek

12/05/2014-25/04/2016

9. Elladios GRIGORIADIS
1976
Grevena
Moldovan
23/03/2009-19/06/2009 and

11/10/2010-09/11/2015

10. Shake KALAM
1987
Grevena
Bangladeshi

29/06/2015-

11. Theodoros KAMINIDIS
1983
Grevena
Greek

30/01/2014-

12. Ajaks KANANI
1992
Grevena
Albanian

11/05/2015-

 

13. Karen KAZARIAN
1974
Grevena
Armenian

25/08/2014-

14. Gaik KHACHATURIAN
1971
Grevena
Armenian

25/08/2014-09/12/2015

15. Igor KMARISHIN
1980
Grevena
Ukrainian
29/06/2015-

16. Lin KOLA
1976
Grevena
Albanian
28/08/2015-

17. Ioannis KOTANIDIS
1970
Grevena
Greek

21/03/2014-

18. Gheorghe MARDARI
1959
Grevena
Greek

06/10/2010-

 

19. Arjan OJOLI OXHOLLI HOTSOLA
1979

Grevena

Albanian

13/05/2011-09/08/2011 and

23/04/2012-02/02/2016

20. Badiv ONCIOIV
1967
Grevena
Romanian

30/03/2009-

21. Kristo PAPA
1985
Grevena
Albanian

21/05/2015-05/11/2015

 

22. Vladimiros PAPADOPOULOS
1990
Grevena
Greek

05/11/2011-

23. Nikolaos PARCHARIDIS
1986
Grevena
Greek

03/12/2012-

24. Fran PJETRA
1990
Grevena
Albanian

12/08/2013-26/07/2016

 

25. Dimitrios POUMPOURIDIS
1976
Grevena
Greek

24/03/2015-

26. Miji RASED
1975
Grevena
Bangladeshi

12/08/2013-

27. Dionysios SAINIDIS
1994
Grevena
Greek
10/03/2014-29/10/2015

28. Michail SKALIDAKIS
1962
Grevena
Greek
24/11/2014-01/06/2016

29. Ioannis SPATHARIDIS
1971
Grevena
Greek
25/08/2014-11/11/2015

30. Marin ZANI
1994
Grevena
Albanian
08/06/2015-

31. Ivelin ZHELYAZKOV
1966
Grevena
Bulgarian

22/09/2014-25/11/2015

Electra-Leda KOUTRA

3.

5621/16*

Karaf and Others v. Greece

19/01/2016

1. Mohamed KARAF
1974
Grevena
Syrian
06/12/2012-

2. Orhan ARSLAN-HAN
1980
Grevena
Turkish
09/11/2015-

3. Erald BALILI
1987
Grevena
Albanian
11/05/2015-

4. Alı BıNıCıOGLU
1991
Grevena
Turkish
09/11/2015-

5. Antonios CHRYSSALOS
1962
Grevena
Greek
11/11/2013-

6. Nikolaos GEROGIANNIS
1957
Grevena
Greek
25/05/2015-28/01/2016

7. Theodoros-Theologos KESISOGLOU
1960
Grevena
Greek
21/05/2014-

8. Kosmas KONSTANTINIDIS
1987
Grevena
Greek
09/02/2013-10/11/2015

9. Celjon LESKAJ
1994
Grevena
Albanian
09/11/2015-09/02/2016

10. Andreas LYTRIDIS
1987
Grevena
Greek
08/09/2014-09/07/2015

11. Vaios MELACHROINOS
1989
Grevena
Greek
08/04/2015-

12. Ilir MILE
1990
Grevena
Albanian
02/04/2015-02/10/2015

13. Panagiotis ORFANIDIS
1980
Grevena
Greek
15/04/2015-

14. Theodoros PETROPOULOS
1976
Grevena
Greek

15/07/2015-
 

15. Narcis-Valentin PREDA
1982
Grevena
Romanian
04/06/2015-08/01/2016

16. Shaad-Sadek SHAADALAC-ALSADEK
1992
Grevena
Iraqi
18/08/2014-27/05/2016

17. Theodor-Theodoros VEIS-BEIS
1958
Grevena
Albanian
24/01/2014-

18. Valentin YANAKIEV
1981
Grevena
Bulgarian
28/07/2014-

19. Tarık YAVUZ
1976
Grevena
Turkish

22/12/2014-

Electra-Leda KOUTRA