Background
Multiple applicants complained about the inadequate conditions of their detention in Larissa Prison in Greece, lodging their application in January 2018. The applicants alleged severe overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions, including inadequate access to warm water, mouldy cells, poor ventilation, and infestation. The Court first addressed the admissibility of the application, including whether applicant Georgios Georgantzias’s case was timely given his irregular detention and periodic transfers to Larissa Prison throughout 2017–2019.
The Greek Government argued that the overall detention conditions did not exceed the threshold for violation of Article 3 of the Convention and disputed the applicants’ overcrowding claims, asserting that detainees were never held with more than seven others in dormitories. However, the Government produced no documentary evidence to support these assertions.
Five applicants were struck from the list after their representative failed to provide requested factual updates and detention certificates within the time-limit set by the Court, leaving four applicants whose complaints proceeded on the merits.
The Court’s Holding
The Court found a violation of Article 3 of the Convention for applicants Georgios Georgantzias, Georgios Bitsanis, Serkan Karakus, and Anastasios Maggafas. The applicants were detained in severely overcrowded dormitories measuring 23 square metres, housing at least eight detainees, thereby affording each less than 3 square metres of personal space. The Court determined this was not a short, occasional, or minor deficiency but rather a persistent and systematic overcrowding problem throughout their detention.
The Court applied well-established precedent holding that serious lack of personal space in detention weighs heavily in assessing whether conditions are “degrading” under Article 3, and may constitute a violation alone or in combination with other deficiencies. Although the Government contested the applicants’ allegations, it failed to rebut them with evidence and did not produce prison records showing dormitory-by-dormitory population data. The Court relied on statistical reports from the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection confirming persistent overcrowding, as well as observations by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture regarding Larissa Prison. Notably, the Court had previously found Article 3 violations in earlier cases examining Larissa Prison’s conditions.
The Court ordered Greece to pay non-pecuniary damages to the four applicants (ranging from €2,100 to €12,500 per applicant) plus €1,000 jointly for costs and expenses, payable within three months with interest thereafter at the European Central Bank’s marginal lending rate plus three percentage points.
Key Takeaways
- Detention in conditions where each inmate has less than 3 square metres of personal space constitutes a violation of Article 3 when resulting from systemic, prolonged overcrowding.
- A state’s failure to produce documentary evidence refuting overcrowding allegations, combined with third-party monitoring reports and government statistics showing persistent overcrowding, supports a finding of violation.
- Prison overcrowding is a continuing situation for purposes of the six-month admissibility requirement when regular, cyclical detention involves no material change in conditions.
- Systemic problems in a particular detention facility establish a basis for findings of violation across multiple applicants without requiring evidence unique to each individual’s circumstances.
Why It Matters
This judgment reinforces that European states bear an absolute obligation to maintain minimum humane conditions in detention facilities. Larissa Prison has now been found to violate Article 3 in multiple cases before the Court, establishing a pattern of systemic failure that Greece must remediate. The decision underscores that overcrowding is not a mere administrative inconvenience but a human rights violation—and that states cannot defend inhuman detention by asserting insufficient documentation or refusing to provide evidence.
For authorities managing detention facilities, the ruling emphasizes that personal space standards (3 sq. m minimum) are enforceable minima, not aspirational targets. The award of substantial damages demonstrates the Court’s commitment to holding states accountable for systemic prison conditions that persist despite prior findings of violation, signalling that repeated violations may result in increasing financial consequences under Article 41 of the Convention.