Greek prisons overcrowded and undignified: CoE report

Chronic overcrowding in Greek prisons exposes many inmates to conditions that are "an affront to their human dignity", the Council of Europe said in a report released on Friday.

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 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 capacity of 10,175 places, 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.