- 79 - the Greek authorities to strenuously reiterate the message of zero tolerance of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty and to reinforce it with a statement at the appropriate political level (paragraph 24); - the national authorities to pursue their policy of strict selection criteria at the time of recruitment and the provision of adequate professional training, both initial and in-service. Further, there should be active attempts to recruit police officers from established minority groups within the country (paragraph 25); - “whistle-blower” protective measures, as described in paragraph 25, to be adopted (paragraph 25). comments - it is incumbent upon the Greek authorities to ensure that the Hellenic Police Force actively promotes a strong culture of tolerance and understanding within its ranks; such an outlook needs to be inculcated at all stages of police training. A clear message should also be sent that racist behaviour will be sanctioned accordingly (paragraph 18). requests for information - on the outcome of the inquiries into the methods used by officers at the Security Departments of Omonia and Kypseli Police Stations in Athens and at the Monasteriou Police Headquarters in Thessaloniki, when detaining and interviewing criminal suspects (paragraph 16); - on the investigation into the case of alleged physical ill-treatment at Aghios Panteleimonas Police Station referred to in paragraph 17 (paragraph 17); - confirmation that non-Greek citizens are included in the scope of the mandate of the Office on Arbitrary Incidents (paragraph 23). Safeguards against ill-treatment recommendations - the Greek authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty by the Hellenic Police have an effective right to notify a close relative or third party of their choice of their situation, as from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty. If necessary, persons should be provided with the possibility of a free phone call (paragraph 27); - legal provisions to be adopted spelling out the circumstances when the exercise of the right to inform a third party of one’s custody can be delayed and making any such delay subject to appropriate safeguards (e.g. any delay to be recorded in writing along with the reason, and to require the approval of a prosecutor or judge) and strictly limited in time (paragraph 27);