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Since 2000, more than 100 foreign nationals have died in Greek police stations or migrant centers lacking adequate healthcare, Oxford University researchers said in a study released Tuesday, noting that 34 of the cases never entered official records.
The study counted 112 deaths over 26 years, 44 of them suicides. Police stations with no medical staff accounted for 84 cases, while 27 took place in migrant detention facilities.
Neither the Greek government nor the police ministry responded immediately to a request for comment.
Drawing on police figures secured via freedom of information requests, as well as international monitoring reports, media coverage and testimonies, the dataset forms part of an ongoing project tracking foreign nationals who die in custody, among them people detained on criminal grounds.
In a statement, the authors said the findings reveal “gaps in official police records and serious barriers to healthcare, including in facilities receiving EU funding,” adding that police statistics omitted 34 deaths recorded by journalists, NGOs and monitors.
Published on the research platform Detention Landscapes, the data echoes concerns raised by human rights groups and comes after a 2026 report by the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT).
That assessment found a rise in custodial deaths across Greece and said some might have been avoided through adequate supervision, psychiatric care and healthcare.
One of the cases the committee reviewed involved the death of a 37-year-old Pakistani migrant held at an Athens police station.
The CPT also flagged chronic overcrowding in cells, with five people crammed into spaces designed for one, and inmates sleeping on concrete or on mattresses infested with bedbugs.
Greece, a longtime entry point for migrants seeking to reach the European Union from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, told the CPT it was addressing the shortcomings through a 2025-2030 action plan aimed at improving detention conditions, safeguarding inmates’ rights, adding staff and reducing congestion in prisons.
A 2024 United Nations report found that the problem affects more than 60% of countries worldwide.
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