Outcry over jail conditions
The state of Greek jails was thrust into the spotlight again yesterday after three inmates at Korydallos Prison burned to death and another was seriously injured after a fire broke out in their cell. Two Romanians and a Greek prisoner died in the fire in Cell 80 of the fourth wing at Greece’s largest jail. They were named as Marian Greca, Fanel Paduraru and Nikos Stroubakos. A third Romanian, Nikolae Radu, was being treated in Erythros Stavros Hospital for serious burns. It was not clear what caused the fire and versions of what happened differ among prison authorities and inmates. Prison officers said the fire broke out at 12.30 a.m. and was soon put out by guards and prisoners. The guards claim the inmates in the cell that caught fire had been drinking or taking drugs and did not call out for help. According to inmates, however, the fire began some 15 minutes before midnight and the prisoners immediately began crying out to alert the guards. One guard allegedly checked on the cell but did not open the door. He returned some 30 minutes later, inmates claim, with help to put out the blaze. Authorities at Korydallos admitted that there are no smoke alarms or automatic sprinklers throughout the prison. Justice Minister Anastassis Papaligouras cut short a trip to Brussels to visit the prison while inmates refused food yesterday in protest at the three inmates’ deaths. A prosecutor began a preliminary investigation into the incident, which has again raised questions about the overcrowding and squalid conditions in Greek jails. Last September, European justice ministers said Greece was not doing enough to improve facilities. In 2001, the European Court of Justice ruled that Greece was violating human rights because of its «degrading conditions of detention.» The government has pledged to build six new jails by 2007 as 9,500 prisoners are housed in facilities designed for just 5,500. There are more than 2,200 prisoners at Korydallos, which is meant to hold 640 inmates. Alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros said the first new prison, in Trikala, will be ready in a few weeks.
