‘The surface of the slab was large, at least 2.5 metres by 1.5 metres. I immediately realised that if I had been washing the dishes at that moment, I would not be alive,’ he writes.
Giotopoulos’s letter, published by Documento, again draws attention to the state’s indifference to prisoners’ lives. ‘The outrageous thing about the case is that the Directorate knew there was a serious problem with the ceiling in the cells on the second floor of wing E, because about five years ago the same incident occurred in cell B8, near mine,’ he writes.
‘If they do not take serious measures, and not makeshift patches, to prevent such incidents, it is certain that they will be repeated in future, in another cell on the second floor. And most likely in one of its five chambers, where a total of about 100 prisoners are crammed in miserable conditions,’ he adds, concluding: ‘Let us hope that the ceiling does not fall on a prisoner’s head.’
Giotopoulos’s letter in full:
‘It was Monday, 23 March, at night, just before 8pm. I was watching the news, sitting on the bed in my cell, with the television at the other end of it. Suddenly I heard a deafening bang inside my cell, as if a missile had hit. I turned and saw half the cell filled with rubble from plaster, cement and iron. A slab of plaster and cement had come loose and fallen with force, smashing and shattering into dozens of pieces the sink, the shelves and everything that was on them. The surface of the slab was large, at least 2.5 metres by 1.5 metres. I immediately realised that if I had been washing the dishes at that moment, I would not be alive.
‘Before I could open the door, prisoners from neighbouring cells who had heard the bang and were worried came in. As soon as they saw the wreckage, they said to me: “You were lucky”, “That was a close shave.” I immediately went outside, since there was a risk that the rest of the ceiling slab would fall. They alerted the guards who, as soon as they saw the scene, took me to another cell on the first floor.
‘The infuriating thing about the case is that the Directorate knew there was a serious problem with the ceiling in the cells on the second floor of wing E. Because about five years ago the same incident happened in cell B8, near mine, in the cell of G.M., who was a canteen worker and has now been released. It was about 10 in the morning when I heard a loud bang. I entered his cell, there was no prisoner inside, and I saw that a circular piece of the ceiling, about one metre in diameter, had fallen to the floor and shattered. We all thought that if someone had been there, they would have been seriously injured. They did send a crew and carry out some work on the cell, but they did nothing to prevent the most likely scenario, which was that the incident would be repeated in another cell on the second floor, as indeed it was. In fact, according to inmates’ testimonies, the same thing happened in two other cells.
‘Article 37 of the Penitentiary Code states that the prison administration is responsible for the safety of prisoners. However, there is no safety for prisoners in the cells on the second floor of wing E, since their physical integrity is at risk every day. At any moment, they could be hit on the head by a piece of the ceiling and be seriously injured.
‘If they do not take serious measures, and not makeshift patches, to prevent such incidents, it is certain that they will be repeated in future, in another cell on the second floor. And most likely in one of its five chambers, where a total of about 100 prisoners are crammed in miserable conditions. Let us hope that the ceiling does not fall on a prisoner’s head.’
Alekos Giotopoulos
cell B1, wing E
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