In July, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published its report following an ad hoc visit to Greece from 21 November to 1 December 2023, strongly urging the Greek authorities to improve the dire conditions in immigration detention facilities, particularly the new EU-funded centres on the Aegean islands.
The CPT highlighted numerous credible allegations of physical abuse by police and coast guard officials against detained foreign nationals, as well as appalling living conditions in some of the centres visited, including overcrowding, lack of basic necessities, and inadequate healthcare and vulnerability screening.
The report is also critical of the continued practice of violent "pushbacks" to Türkiye, emphasising the need for Greece to end these illegal actions and ensure proper investigations. The CPT’s findings underscore the urgent need for concrete action to protect the rights and dignity of migrants, and the Committee calls for immediate and sustained efforts to address these critical human rights issues.”
In September 2024, the CPT (European Committee for the Prevention of Torture) conducted an ad hoc visit to Bulgaria, focusing on the issue of immigration detention. The aim of the visit was to evaluate the implementation of long-standing CPT recommendations regarding the treatment of foreign nationals detained under immigration law. The delegation carried out follow-up visits to various detention facilities in Busmantsi, Elhovo, Lyubimets, and Svilengrad, to examine living conditions, the provision of healthcare services, and the safeguards and rights afforded to detained persons. Interviews were also conducted with foreign nationals who had recently been held by Bulgarian law enforcement agencies and who were met outside Bulgaria. At the outset of the visit, the CPT also met with various bodies active in the field of migration including the UNHCR.
Additionally, the CPT carried out a periodic visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier in September 2024, during which it also reviewed the situation of foreign nationals at Sarajevo airport, including in the restricted zone, and at Lukavica Immigration Detention Centre.
The CPT also published the report on its 2023 periodic visit to Estonia, in which it found, inter alia, very good material conditions in the detention centre in Tallinn, though improvements were needed regarding outdoor spaces and activities. The Estonian authorities declared that they have implemented these recommendations.
The CPT has held various bilaterial meetings recently on the CPT’s migration-related activities and related updates, including with FRA, Pace Migration Committee and with representatives from the Migration team of the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
