First case in Greece and a benchmark of the European Court's jurisprudence in detention cases, in which a prisoner was vindicated due to inhumane conditions of detention in detention centers and awarded compensation (violation of Article 3 of the ECHR). Unique case in Greece where the Court visited the detention centers and conducted an autopsy. From then on, our office successfully handled dozens of similar cases (Metnane etc. v. Greece (2016), M. v. Greece, Arvanitis etc. v. Greece (2017), Dule and Ansar v. Greece (2017), Iatropoulos and others v. Greece (2017), Al Mufti v. Greece (2018), etc.).

With this decision, the European Court acquitted our client, temporarily detained in the detention facilities of the Thessaloniki Police Directorate, for unlawful detention, because he was remanded in custody without being suspected of absconding or committing new criminal acts and without considering alternative measures to detention in view of the detrimental effects of remand in custody on his health (violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention, compensation). At the same time, we succeeded in convicting the state of inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3) due to the poor conditions of detention. Many similar cases of our office followed, acquitting the applicants at the remand stage (including Shuvaev v. Greece (2009), Siasos and Others v. Greece (2009), Ibram v. Greece (2011), etc.).

With this groundbreaking decision, the Court condemned Greece for the illegal detention of a foreigner and found numerous violations of the Convention (Articles 3, 5 § 1 f' and 5 § 4) as it ruled that 1. the conditions of detention of our client, an Afghan citizen, in the detention facilities of the Thessaloniki Police Directorate constituted inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3) because the applicant slept on the floor on a dirty mattress, and the detention facility was overcrowded and lack of hygiene. The detainee was also deprived of the opportunity to exercise outdoors or have fun, his food was inadequate and the specific detention facility was generally unsuitable, 2. his detention (3 months) exceeded the period required for his deportation and the Greek authorities did not take the appropriate steps to deport him within this period and 3. he did not have an effective legal remedy against his detention.
This case created a jurisprudential precedent and led to a change in the Greek legislative framework for the judicial review of the detention of a foreigner pending deportation so that it is in line with the requirements of the Convention.

A landmark judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the protection of the rights of women in detention. The Court found Greece guilty of multiple violations of the Convention in the case of the detention of a woman from Georgia at the Thermi Border Guard Department due to poor conditions of detention that fell short of international standards, constituting inhuman and degrading treatment, while the detainee did not have an effective remedy to complain about her detention and be released.

The detention of an unaccompanied child from Afghanistan in the Orestiada Detention Center was unlawful because he was held in the same place as adults in violation of international law. Greece was found guilty of numerous violations of the Convention and the applicant was awarded compensation (Art. 5 para. 1 & 4 ECHR).

Our office represented asylum seekers from the Moria camp in Lesvos who appealed to the ECHR for living conditions considered inhuman and degrading and the lack of an effective remedy within the meaning of the ECHR, and achieved the award of reasonable compensation.

In this case, our office represented criminal prisoners before the Court who were acquitted of a violation of their right to a fair trial due to the excessive length of criminal proceedings and the lack of an effective remedy (violation of Articles 6 para. 1 and 13 of the Convention).

Unjust pre-trial detention of a person suffering from serious chronic health problems due to which he suffered a stroke. The European Court noted the serious shortcomings of Greek prisons in terms of medical staffing and the prison’s failure to comply with doctors’ recommendations for medication, physiotherapy sessions and the provision of special medical equipment. For these reasons, it held that the applicant was exposed to mental and physical suffering which violated his human dignity and constituted inhuman and degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.” Also, given the failure to examine the possibility of replacing pre-trial detention with restrictive conditions, the Court held that his 16-month detention exceeded a reasonable time in violation of Article 5 § 3 of the Convention.

Detainees at the Korydallos Prison Hospital suffering from serious chronic illnesses (in particular HIV infection). The Court found in favour of the applicants, holding that the inadequate material conditions and sanitary facilities, the overcrowding, the inadequate medical assistance, the lack of personal space, which increased the risk of infection by contagious diseases, combined with their vulnerability and the length of their detention, constituted inhuman and degrading treatment. It also held that they had no effective remedy for these complaints. For these reasons, it found Greece guilty of violating Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention, and also awarded compensation for their non-pecuniary damage.