- 10 - To begin with, the design of the special holding facilities in which irregular migrants are held does not conform to the standards put forward by the CPT as long ago as 19977. The carceral design of new detention centres such as Aspropyrgos, Petrou Rali and Filakio are totally inappropriate – cells with floor to ceiling bars guaranteeing no privacy, and communication with staff usually taking place through the bars. Other deficiencies noticeable in most, if not all, places in which irregular migrants are detained include a lack of maintenance of the building (especially the sanitary facilities), poor lighting and ventilation, insufficient personal hygiene products and cleaning materials, inability to obtain a change of clothes, lack of information provided to detained persons, no access to daily outdoor exercise, inadequate food. The situation was further aggravated by the overcrowding prevalent in most facilities, in particular as regards hygiene and access to medical care. In the Evros region, the result was that the conditions of detention in which irregular migrants were held, in at least four facilities, could be described as amounting to inhuman and degrading treatment. 14. On 26 January 2011, Law 3907/2011 on the establishment of a new asylum service, the setting up of screening centres and the transposition of the European Union Return Directive8 entered into force. The CPT trusts that the law will be fully implemented and that effective cooperation and coordination mechanisms will be put in place between the various ministries and authorities charged with migration matters. In particular, urgent short and medium-term steps need to be taken to address the appalling conditions in which irregular migrants are detained. Failure to act will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis brewing in the Evros region. 2. Ill-treatment 15. The CPT’s delegation received many allegations of ill-treatment of irregular migrants by police officers in the Attica and Evros regions consisting primarily of punches and kicks to the head and body. This was particularly the case at Filakio Special holding facility, where the atmosphere in the detention cells was extremely tense and relations between the irregular migrants and the police officers appeared hostile. The alleged ill-treatment in this facility took place in the small visits and telephone room, connecting the detention cells to the medical unit. One person met displayed a purplish bruise below the right eye which he alleged was caused by a punch from a police officer. In addition, several detainees alleged that they were beaten up in the so-called visits room, and the delegation observed bloodstains on the walls of this room. The Director of the centre initially denied the existence of the bloodstains but when they were shown to him he stated that they were caused by detainees committing acts of self-injury. Such an explanation is not convincing in the light of what the delegation found. 7 8 See CPT/Inf (2001) 18, Part I, paragraph 73. Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals.