ECtHR - C.D. and Others v. Greece, Application Nos. 33441/10, 33468/10 and 33476/10

Concerning the alleged violation of Article 3, the Court observed that the allegations of the Applicants in relation to conditions at the Venna detention centre were consistent with the findings of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), the UN Special Rapporteur against Torture and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, which concluded that detention conditions were inadequate there. The centre was closed after the visit of the latter in December 2012. On this basis, the Court declared a violation of Article 3.

The Court also found a violation of Article 5(4) because the remedies provided for by the Greek law at the time of the detention of the Applicants did not allow for judicial review of the lawfulness of the expulsion order that served as legal basis for detention. Instead, detention could only be challenged on the basis of risk of absconding or threat to public order. In addition, the administrative challenge of the expulsion order could not be used to challenge detention. Therefore, the Applicants did not have an effective remedy for the review of the lawfulness of their detention.

As regards Article 5(1), the Court found that the detention of the Applicants was based on Greek law. In addition, the time that transpired until they were returned could not be considered disproportionate in view of the necessary administrative formalities that the Greek and Turkish authorities, as well as the authorities of the countries of origin of some of the Applicants, had to comply with. The Greek authorities had not acted passively during the returns procedure and therefore the detention of the Applicants had been justified.

Finally, the Court declared the Applicants’ allegations under Article 9 manifestly ill-founded and inadmissible.