-9II. FACTS FOUND DURING THE VISIT AND ACTION PROPOSED A. Establishments under the authority of the Ministry of Public Order 1. Preliminary remarks 10. As already noted, the 1999 visit focused on the conditions of detention and treatment of foreign nationals detained in establishments falling under the authority of the Ministry of Public Order. The delegation visited several types of such establishments: police directorates and stations in Athens, Glyfada, Piraeus and Alexandroupolis; specific holding facilities for foreign nationals at Athens Airport, in Piraeus and in Feres; and transfer centres for prisoners in Athens and Piraeus. Some of these establishments had already received visits by the CPT in 1993 and/or 1997, and had been the subject of recommendations in the reports drawn up after these visits. However, as borne out by the delegation’s findings made in the course of the 1999 visit, most of the Committee’s earlier recommendations remained to be implemented. 11. Two different procedures can be applied to foreigners illegally present in Greece who have been apprehended by the police: an administrative and a judicial deportation procedure. The legal provisions relating to administrative deportation are contained in Law 1975/1991 and Joint Ministerial Decree No 4803/13/7a of 26 June 1992. The body responsible for taking deportation decisions is the State Security Department of the Ministry of Public Order. In the case of a foreign national submitting a request for asylum, the deportation is suspended, pending examination of the request by a specialised service. In other cases, decisions are taken on the basis of reports sent by the police departments which have detained the persons concerned. The deportation decision can be appealed to the Ministry of Public Order within 3 days; the delegation received conflicting information as to whether such an appeal has suspensive effect. The CPT would like to have this issue clarified by the Greek authorities. The law does not fix a maximum period during which foreign nationals subject to the administrative deportation procedure may be held by the police. The delegation was informed that when such persons are in possession of valid documents and tickets, the period of detention usually does not exceed a week. However, if no such documents are available, the period of detention may be prolonged, due to difficulties in identifying the person concerned and/or failure of the consular authorities responsible for issuing the required documents to co-operate in an efficient manner. The Deputy Director of the State Security Department informed the delegation that 19,000 deportation orders had been issued in 1999. However, the department handling deportation orders and appeals employed only 10 staff members. In the face of such a considerable workload, it is inevitable that some delays may occur. In fact, the delegation met a number of foreign nationals who, although in possession of valid passports and tickets, had spent over a week in police custody, in conditions which could often be qualified as inhuman and degrading. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that there are no undue delays in the deportation procedure.