ECtHR - R. T. v Greece, Application No. 5124/11, 11 February 2016

Facts:

The Applicant is an Iranian national of Kurdish origin. He left his country of origin as a child, fearing for his safety as a result of the political activities of his father. On reaching Iraq, he was placed under a UNHCR protection programme. He arrived in Greece in October 2010 and shortly thereafter was arrested for illegal entry and detained at the Tychero border post. On 3 November 2010, an order was made for him to be deported to Turkey and detained for a maximum of 6 months in the meantime, on the grounds that he posed a flight risk.

The Applicant was able to formally lodge an asylum application on 25 November 2010. In January 2011, he challenged the conditions and lawfulness of his detention before the administrative court at Alexandropouli. He argued that the conditions violated his rights under Article 3, given the overcrowding; dirtiness; limited space for sleeping, walking and physical activity; unavailability of hygiene products and clothing; lack of heating; limited communications with the outside world; and the impossibility of accessing doctors and psychological support. He also argued that his detention was illegal under Article 5, because the authorities would not be able to examine his application within the three-month legal time limit. These complaints were rejected by the administrative court.

On 10 January 2011, the Applicant was ‘inadvertently’ deported to Turkey as a result of an administrative error. The Iranian authorities having failed to identify the Applicant, as required by the Turkish authorities, the Applicant was returned to Greece on 24 January and placed back in detention at Tychero. On 1 February, he challenged the order for his detention and expulsion to Iran. He maintained that he would be at risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 for political reasons in Iran. At the same time, he requested the facilitation of his return to Iraq so that he could attend the funeral of his five-year-old son, who had died at the end of January. As a result, the Applicant was released with an order to leave the territory within 30 days. His asylum application was also rejected because he had signed a form on 27 January expressing his desire to return ‘to his country’.

Decision & reasoning:

Outcome:

The Court found that there had been a violation of Articles 3, Article 13 read with Article 3, and Articles 5(1) and 5(4).

Observations/comments:

This summary was written by Georgia Kandunias, GDL student at BPP University. 

Other sources:

Report to the Government of Greece on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 19 to 27 January 2011.

Findings of the National Commission for Human Rights and the Mediator of the Republic.