The Court found in particular that Article 5 was applicable to the applicants’ case as their presence in
the transit zone had not been voluntary; they had been left to their own devices for the entire
period of their stay, which had lasted between five and 19 months depending on the applicant;
there had been no realistic prospect of them being able to leave the zone; and the authorities had
not adhered to the domestic legislation on the reception of asylum-seekers.
Given the absence of a legal basis for their being confined to the transit zone, a situation made
worse by them being impeded in accessing the asylum system, the Court concluded that there had
been a violation of the applicants’ rights protected by Article 5 § 1.
The conditions the applicants had lived in had also been appalling: they had had to sleep in the
transit zone, a busy and constantly lit area, with no access to washing or cooking facilities. There had
thus also been a breach of Article 3 as their treatment had been degrading.
Art 2 • Art 3 • Expulsion • Sunni Muslim killed shortly after removal to Iraq where he had previously suffered life-threatening incidents • Inadequate assessment of risks with regard to tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims
The case concerns the arrest of the applicants, nine unaccompanied minors, and their placement in different police stations in northern Greece and in the Diavata centre. The Court found violations of articles 3 on the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment (no violation on living conditions), violation of article 13 on the right to an effective remedy and a violation of article 5 (1) and (4) on the right to liberty and security, right to a speedy decision on the lawfulness of a detention measure.