-9II. FACTS FOUND DURING THE VISIT AND ACTION PROPOSED A. The detention of irregular migrants 1. Preliminary remarks 11. In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation visited a range of establishments under the authority of the Ministry of Citizen’s Protection (regional police headquarters and stations, transfer centres, border guard stations and detention facilities for irregular migrants4). The vast majority of them were holding foreign nationals with a view to their deportation. 12. The CPT recalls that the relevant 2005 Aliens Law was amended in July 20095, increasing the maximum length of detention from three to six months. Further, the detention may be extended by an additional period not exceeding twelve months if an irregular migrant refuses to cooperate with the deportation process or while waiting for requested documentation from the country of origin of the migrant to arrive. Upon apprehension by the police, an irregular migrant is held in a police or border guard station until the prosecutor decides whether or not the migrant should be prosecuted for the criminal offence of illegal entry or administratively deported.6 Usually, such a decision is made within a few days. In almost all cases, the prosecutor opts for administrative deportation and the irregular migrant should subsequently be transferred to a dedicated Police Holding Facility or a Special facility for the detention of irregular migrants. However, the CPT’s delegation found yet again that huge numbers of irregular migrants were being held in police or border guard stations for the full length of their period of detention. In addition, migrants who may have been living in the country for a year or more pending their asylum application will be detained at the moment they attempt to renew their “pink card” if their application has been rejected in the meantime. It is also noteworthy that foreign nationals who are arrested on suspicion of having committed a criminal offence (e.g. theft) may be kept under the Aliens Law for a prolonged period in police detention with a view to being deported rather than prosecuted (for example, at Alexander Police Headquarters in Athens, the vast majority of detainees were foreign nationals, who had originally been arrested on suspicion of having committed a criminal offence, but who continued to be held in the police station in totally unsuitable conditions for periods lasting several months). 13. The CPT acknowledges the challenges faced by the Greek authorities in coping with the constant influx of irregular migrants. However, the conditions in which irregular migrants are held would appear to be a deliberate policy by the authorities in order to deliver a clear message that only persons with the necessary identity papers should attempt to enter Greece. Certainly, this is the impression formed by successive CPT delegations ever since the visit in September 2005. 4 5 6 Up until the end of 2010, the Filakio Special holding facility was under the joint responsibility of the Hellenic Police and the prefecture. However, under the “Kallikratis reform” the prefectures ceased to function as from 1 January 2011 and, at the time of the visit, no body had taken over their functions. Law 3772/2009 (published on 10 July 2009). Article 83 (1) of the 2005 Aliens Law.