Tragic prison conditions

Shocking evidence on the situation within the country's prisons was presented by the Initiative for Prisoners' Rights. Of a total 12600 prisoners, 9000 refuse to partake in the provided commons, while over 1000 have began a hunger strike. Spokesmen for the Initiative have called upon the Justice Minister Haris Kastanides to immediately meet with representatives of the prisoners, while there is also a plan in motion for a peaceful protest march towards the prisons.

According to the Initiative's data, 157 prisoners in the Malandrino prison, 500 in Grevena prison, 66 in Domokos, 38 in Larisa, 45 in Trikala and 200 in the Diabates prison are abstaining from meals. Furthermore, the Delta Wing of Koridallos Prison is on a hunger strike, while the underage offenders contained within the Special Center for Youth Rehabilitation in Volos also refuse to eat anything.

The prisoners are fighting for better living conditions, with a main focus on depopulation of prisons.

"I have been living in prison for 18 years. I plead with the Minister and the president of the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) to come to an agreement and to let us have some breathing space", said Zani Taulan, a prisoner in Malandrinos prison. "We would very much appreciate it if they gave us the personal space that we are entitled to as prisoners. We cannot take this anymore. Depopulate the prisons tomorrow", he stated.

Giorgos Pavlopoulos, a prisoner in Domokos stated:" Prisons are not rehabilitation centers, since there is no infrastructure which would lead to said rehabilitation of any one person. We call on the government to hear our plea and treat us humanely. If you visit stables and compare them to our prison, you will come to the conclusion that we live under worse conditions than animals".

A reply to Kastanides

A reply to Kastanides who had stated that "some people are trying to destabilize the situation in the country's prisons" was given by litigator and member of the Initiative, Gianna Kurtovik. "Mr. Kastanides' recent statements surprised and offended us. I expect a lot of things from the Minister, who without mentioning the Initiative, passively offended us by claiming that we move in dark and plotting ways", stated Mrs. Kurtovik, adding: "Our aims and the way that the Initiative operates are known, open and declared. The Minister should have known about all of our agenda".

Mrs Kurtovik also pointed out that: "There is a monthly increase of 200-250 in the number of prisoners". The statistics as she presented them are that 30% of those have not been on trial yet, 60% of them are non-Greeks and 35% are being held for crimes pertaining to drugs. Also, 1180 of prisoners are on prison terms that can be bought out, over 5000 are serving time, and 850 are serving a life sentence.

On the Ministry's part, there has been a statement released which mentions that "...after collecting all the data available to us from 33 penitentiaries around the country, we have come to the conclusion that there are prisoners in 16 of them that are abstaining from food. Out of 12600 total detainees, 312 have stated that they are moving to a hunger strike".