FRONTIER EUROPE Human rights abuses on Greece’s border with Turkey 21 detention facilities in Komotini, Fylakio [the immigration detention centre], Metaxades, Feres, and Tychero detainees also complained that they had to sleep on bedding that was not washed for months and of a lack of personal hygiene products, such as soap, shampoo and sanitary towels. Poor sanitation may have contributed to health problems with many detainees observed during interviews to have skin and respiratory problems. MEDICAL CARE IN DETENTION Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) had until April 2013 been providing medical services as well as distributing materials such as personal hygiene items in many of the facilities in the Evros region. Detainees said this was their only source of medical help. MSF representatives told Amnesty International that the majority of health problems (skin infections, gastrointestinal problems, upper respiratory tract infections, musculoskeletal problems and psychological complaints) detected in detention facilities in the Evros region were linked to extended incarceration and to detention conditions. This was based on data from 2,000 consultations MSF had with patients in detention in the Evros region between December 2012 and March 2013. MSF halted its work in the region after KEELPNO (Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) began providing medical services to the detainees in Evros and Rodopi regions in March 2013. However, Amnesty International was later informed by KEELPNO that its programme had ceased as of April 2013 owing to a lack of funding. 57 The absence of firm information on how long each detainee might end up being held, the possibility of being detained for 18 months, the poor living conditions,58 the lack of access to fresh air and the scant communication with the outside world all have an acute impact on the psychological state of detainees. The majority of those that Amnesty International spoke to complained that they were unable to sleep and that suicide attempts are not uncommon. Psychologists and social workers in Komotini Immigration Detention Centre cited suicide attempts, self-harm and self-mutilation, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and sleeping disorders among the psychological problems they encountered at the centre. KEELPNO reported that their social workers in Evros and Rodopi regions recorded three suicide attempts reported to them during their presence there in March and April 2013.59 5.2 DETENTION OF CHILDREN Under international law, states are required to consider “the best interest of the child” in every decision concerning them.60 EU legislation allows detention of unaccompanied children and families with children, but only as a last resort. 61 However, in Amnesty International’s view, children and in particular unaccompanied children, should never be detained for immigration purposes, as detention can never be in their best interest. 62 In Greece, the process for identifying unaccompanied children and other vulnerable individuals is weak. Even when identified, support that is extended to them is insufficient.63 According to the numbers provided by the UN Refugee Agency, the total capacity in Greece to house unaccompanied children and asylum seekers in need was only 1,006 in February 2013.64 In January 2011 a law was introduced to establish an Initial Reception Service “to effectively manage the flow of illegally entering third-country nationals in the country.”65 Amongst other duties, the Service is tasked with registering and verifying the identity and nationality of new arrivals, providing information about rights and obligations, and identifying persons belonging Index: 25/008/2013 Amnesty International July 2013