• Overall detention conditions in pre-removal detention facilities (PRDFs)25 remain substandard, despite some good practices which have been adopted in some pre-removal detention facilities (such as allowing detainees to use their mobile phones). Major concerns include a carceral, prison-like design, the lack of sufficient hygiene and non-food items, including clothes and shoes, clean mattresses and clean blankets, the lack of recreational activities, and overcrowding persisting in some facilities. The provision of medical services in PRDFs remains critical, as the available resources remain inadequate with respect to observed needs.26 • Police stations and other police facilities continue to be widely used for detaining non-citizens, including asylum seekers. For example, almost one in three noncitizens in immigration detention at the end of 2018 were detained in a police station—in other words, 835 persons (or 28.4 percent) out of the total 2,933 persons in detention.27 Detention conditions in police stations and other police facilities are by their nature unsuitable for detention exceeding 24 hours.28 Among various concerns is the fact that no medical services are provided to police stations or to other police facilities. At the end of September 2019, Greek authorities announced the opening of new pre-removal detention facilities (“closed pre-removal centres”). According to these statements, new detention facilities are inter alia aiming to deter the irregular entry of non-citizens.29 The locations of these facilities, and their expected capacity, is currently not yet known. International monitoring During its previous visit, the WGAD visited detention centres in Thessaloniki, Filakio, and Komotini, as well as Soufli border guard station. The WGAD noted that detention conditions in all these facilities were inadequate, in particular as regards lighting, temperature, and food supply. Migrants were mostly locked in their cells, with no recreational activities nor outdoor area. The centres in Fylakio and Thessaloniki were overcrowded. Refugees Concerning the Execution of Judgments by the European Court of Human Rights in the Cases of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece and of Rahimi v. Greece.” As of October 2019, there are eight Pre-removal Detention Facilities (PRDF) in use: Tavros (Petrou Ralli), Amidgaleza, Corinth, Paranesti (Drama), Xanthi, Fylakio, Moria (Lesvos) and Pili (Kos) PRDF. 25 26 The number of health care staff in PRDFs is insufficient. For example, out of the total 20 advertised positions for doctors in pre-removal centres, only nine were actually present as of the end of 2018, and as of October 2019, no doctor is present in Moria (Lesvos), Kos, or Paranesti (Drama) PRDF. Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), “AIDA Report on Greece, Update 2018,”; Greek Ombudsman, “Return of Third Country Nationals, Special Report,” 2018; UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Recommendations by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Concerning the Execution of Judgments by the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece and of Rahimi v. Greece.” 27 See: European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), “Immigration Detention, CPT/Inf(2017)3,” March 2017. 28 CNN, “The Four Axes of the Government with Regards the Migration Issue,” 4 October 2019, https://www.cnn.gr/news/politiki/story/192839/petsas-aytoi-einai-oi-tesseris-axones-tis-kyvernisis-gia-tometanasteytiko 29 GDP & GCR 2019 9