ECtHR: F.H. v. Greece (no. 78456/11) [Article 3, 5 and 13], 31st July 2014

Date: 
Monday, September 22, 2014

In a case which concerned an Iranian national, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the conditions of various detention centres in Greece, where the applicant was placed, along with the living conditions after his release, constituted degrading treatment and thus a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Furthermore, Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) was further breached since the applicant had been given no effective remedy by which to complain of his detention conditions. However, the Court refused to accede to F.H’s submission that Article 5 (right to liberty and security) had also been breached.
 
Upon arrival in Greece in 2010, F.H. was arrested, ordered to return to Iran and held at Feres detention centre. Whilst applying for asylum, F.H was transferred to Venna detention centre. The asylum application was later rejected by the Greek authorities, upon which F.H. lodged an appeal. He was released pending the examination of the appeal, where he subsequently lived as a homeless person in Athens.

Based on an unofficial ECRE translation.
 
Read the ECtHR press release and the original judgment (in French).


19 September 2014

This item was reproduced with the permission of ECRE from the weekly ELENA legal update supported by the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Funding Programme and distributed by email. The purpose of these updates is to inform asylum lawyers and legal organizations supporting asylum seekers and refugees of recent developments in the field of asylum law. Please note that the information provided is taken from publicly available information on the internet. Every reasonable effort is made to make the content accurate and up to date at the time each item is published but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by ECRE, the IRC or its partners.

Keywords: 
Detention
Effective remedy (right to)
Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Tags: 
ECtHR
Greece