Dozens of foreigners’ deaths go undetected in Greece, Oxford University researchers say

ATHENS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – More than 100 foreign nationals have died since 2000 in Greek police stations or migrant centres with inadequate healthcare facilities, including 34 deaths that have not been officially registered, according to research published on Tuesday by Oxford University researchers.

In total, the research found 112 deaths in the 26-year period, including 44 suicides. Of the 112 deaths, 84 occurred in police stations without medical staff and 27 were reported in migrant detention facilities.

The Greek government and the police ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The dataset, part of an ongoing project that monitors deaths of foreign nationals in detention, including those held on criminal grounds, draws on police statistics obtained through freedom of information requests, international monitoring reports, media and testimonies.

The findings reveal “gaps in official police records and serious barriers to healthcare, including in facilities receiving EU funding,” the report’s authors said in a statement. They said 34 deaths documented by journalists, NGOs and monitors were not included in the police statistics.

The data, published on research platform Detention Landscapes, reflects complaints by human rights groups and follows a 2026 report by the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT). The report said that deaths in police custody in Greece had increased and some could have been prevented with sufficient supervision, psychiatric care and healthcare.

Among the cases it examined was the death of a 37-year-old Pakistani migrant while in detention at an Athens police station. 

The CPT also cited persistent overcrowding in prison cells, including five people in spaces meant for one, and detainees sleeping on concrete or bedbug-infested mattresses.

Greece, long a landing point for migrants trying to enter the European Union from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, told the CPT that it was taking steps to address deficiencies under a 2025-2030 action plan to improve detention conditions, protect prisoners’ rights, boost staff and ease prison overcrowding, a problem in over 60% of countries worldwide, according to a 2024 UN report. 

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Edward McAllister and Tomasz Janowski)