Copin ng with a fundam mental rights emeergency – The situ uation of people crossing the Greeek border in an iirregular mannerr in detention dutties can retu urn to border patrol [… …] sanitary conditions an nd health caare are o officers and their famiilies. This sittuation insuffficient and contagious diseases maay spread to mustt be addressed immediattely!” On 1 11 December 2010 the local Police O Officers Unio on of the Ro odopi region near Evros, sent a form mal letter to the t Hellenic Police hierarrchy and thee Minister ou utlining 13 sp pecific propo osals or the iimprovemen nt of the detention facilitties in the to own of Venn na: “[...] Follo owing a Ministerial decission of 2001 irregular immigrants aree temporarilyy detained in n old wareho ouses of the rrailway station. These faacilities have not as yet b been converrted for hum man habitatio on according to the nts, and conssequently aree inappropriaate and danggerous for such use.”37 legal requiremen Desscription of conditiions durin ng the vissit to the ccentre in Soufli The situation in SSoufli38 can b be taken to illustrate how w extreme ovvercrowding can be: on the t day he FRA visit on 29 Janu uary 2011, 1 144 persons were held in i one room m measuring about of th 2 39 110m m. were allowed to go inside the Thee FRA staff w cells. Persons were w lying on the beds as well as o each on the floor tigghtly packed one next to A staff had to climb ovver the other. The FRA dies to get in and move around. One person bod slep pt in a non‐fu unctioning sh hower. Threee other indiividuals slep pt in a darkk hole abovve the toileet/shower. Thee air was filth hy. The wind dows were co overed with h cardboard and rubbish h. A large bin was full with rottingg garbage bu ut had to rem main in the cell for anotther two dayys, as it is removed d day. The to was out oilet door w onlyy every third of itts hinges leaaning on the wall and had d to be Souffli detention faccility lifteed in order to t close. Thee shower haad only cold d water with h freezing temperature o outside at arround 0° Celsius. Some persons p weree evidently sick. s An asylu um seeker claimed that h he was keptt there since 12 August 20 010, which m means more than t six mon nths. 37 Fo ormal registered letter, available (in Greek) at: www w.eayn‐ ro odopis.gr/index.p php?option=com__content&view=article&id=112:20 010‐12‐11‐16‐49‐331&catid=34:new ws&Itemid=29. 38 Seee also ECtHR, S.D D. v. Greece: in itss judgment, the Court C held unanim mously that there had been a violation of Art. 3 (pro ohibition off inhuman or deggrading treatmentt) of the European n Convention on Human Rights, beecause of the con nditions in which the ap pplicant had been n detained in hold ding centres for fo oreigners; and a vviolation of Art. 5 (1) and 5 (4) (rigght to liberty and security), beecause of the unlawfulness of his d detention and thee fact that he had d been unable under Greek law to challenge its law wfulness, avvailable at: http:///cmiskp.echr.coee.int/tkp197/view whbkm.asp?sessio onId=66126107&sskin=hudoc‐ en n&action=html&ttable=F69A27FD88FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649& &key=5409&highliight=. 39 Reegarding the size of the cells see also a the Report to o the governmentt of Greece on thee visit to Greece ccarried out by thee Eu uropean Committtee for the Prevention of Torture and a Inhuman or D Degrading Treatm ment or Punishmeent (CPT) from 27 August to o 9 September 20 005, available at: www.cpt.coe.int/ w /documents/grc/22006‐41‐inf‐eng.h htm. 27