Research records at least 112 deaths of foreign nationals in Greek custody since 2000
The new Detention Landscapes archive identifies gaps in available records. The count does not by itself establish responsibility for each death.
Researchers based at Oxford presented an archive on November 10 documenting at least 112 deaths of foreign nationals in police or immigration detention in Greece since 2000. Published on Detention Landscapes, the records span different periods and facilities; they do not describe a new mass-casualty incident.
The team combines police statistics obtained through information requests with monitoring reports, media archives and testimonies. Its scope includes foreign nationals held on criminal grounds and deaths in hospitals while police custody continued. Deaths after release are excluded.
The researchers say 34 deaths found in other sources were absent from the police statistics disclosed to them. They explicitly caution that this does not prove the authorities had never recorded those deaths internally.
The database remains open to corrections and additions. Its methodology acknowledges uneven coverage of facilities and limits on access to information. It is neither a complete census nor a judicial finding on the causes of, or responsibility for, individual deaths.
Reuters reported on November 10 that the government and the relevant ministry had not immediately responded to a request for comment. The findings raise questions about comparable public records and further investigation of individual cases.
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