Unlawful Detention of Asylum Seekers and Irregular Migrants: S.D. v. Greece

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Background
S.D. is a Turkish national who had been arrested and tortured by the Turkish authorities due to his journalistic activities and political views, before fleeing the country and entering Greece irregularly. When arrested, he allegedly sought asylum but his application was rejected. After staying in Germany for 4 years, he took a second attempt to enter Greece but was accused of using false papers and entering the country illegally. He was arrested and the authorities began procedures to deport him. During his detention, he stayed in a barracks with no possibility of going outside, telephoning and without clean blankets, sheets and sufficient hygiene products. When the authorities registered his asylum application, the decision of deportation was overturned. However, with another decision of deportation, he was arrested again. Renewing his asylum application, he objected to the decision. The objection, however, was rejected and S.D. was transferred to the Attiki detention centre, where he lived in unacceptable conditions. The Administrative Court refused to examine whether he had been detained justifiedly.  

The Court’s Judgment 

The Court found that S.D.’s treatment in detention had been inhuman and degrading. This had been confirmed in several reports by international institutions – including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Human Rights Watch, which pointed at the distressing detention conditions near the Greece-Turkey border. Moreover, the Court held that the applicant’s detention with the intent of later deporting him had no legal basis given that his application for asylum had been pending at that time. The domestic courts’ refusal to examine the lawfulness of the detention was also a violation. Indeed, there was no possibility in sight for the applicant to have the Greek courts review the legitimacy of his detention. 

Status of Implementation

The Committee of Ministers examines S.D. v. Greece along with no fewer than 30 judgments brought against Greece which concern the wrongful detention of asylum seekers, failure to provide clear information, the possibility of challenging the legality of detention itself and conditions of detention. Releasing all the victims, the Greek authorities adopted certain legislative measures according to which detention is practised for asylum seekers when asylum applications are examined in a swift manner. Likewise, irregular migrants could be detained only under exceptional conditions. However, given that Greece did not comply with this provision in a number of cases even after the amendment, administrative practices still need to be improved. Since April 2016, deportation decisions have been subject to the oversight of domestic courts. The Committee of Ministers examined this group of cases in September 2016 and switched its supervision from enhanced to standard procedure, closing supervision for the cases concerning the administrative detention of asylum seekers and irregular migrants. 

Useful links to S.D. v. Greece (Application No 53541/07) 

Press release of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

Case summary on Hudoc-EXEC