- 16 b. police detention facilities in the Attica and other regions 31. The CPT has repeatedly criticised the conditions of detention at Piraeus Holding Facility for Aliens since it was first visited by the Committee in 199714. Following the September 2009 visit, the Greek authorities informed the CPT by letter of 23 November 2009 that the Piraeus facility was scheduled for demolition at the beginning of 2010, and that a new building would be constructed. However, when the CPT’s delegation visited the facility in January 2011, it was evident that it continued to be used to hold irregular migrants, for up to six months or longer, in dilapidated, gloomy and dirty conditions. Detained persons (37 at the time of the visit) were not medically screened, nor were they provided with any personal hygiene products or offered access to outdoor exercise. Such a state of affairs is not acceptable. Further, it calls into question the reliability of the responses of the Greek authorities to the Committee. 32. The situation in Aspropyrgos Police Holding facility had not improved since previous visits in 2007 and 200815, apart from the refurbishment of the sanitary facilities on one floor. At the time of the 2011 visit, 131 irregular migrants were being held in eight large cells on two floors; the average stay was two to three months but stays longer than six months (even 11 months) were not uncommon. The cells were dirty and detained migrants were not provided with hygiene products or clean blankets when they entered the establishment; the delegation noted an infestation of cockroaches. Detained migrants continued to have difficulties accessing a toilet, in particular at night, and resort to plastic bottles was common. Many detainees stated that police officers either did not respond to calls or, if they did, they were verbally abusive. Further, there was still no access to outdoor exercise. In response to the immediate observation referred to in paragraph 9 above, on 26 January 2011, officials from the Ministry of Citizen’s Protection orally informed the CPT’s delegation that a mobile unit from the Ministry of Health would be sent to the facility that day. However, the CPT would like to receive a written response to the immediate observation made in respect of medical screening for persons detained at the Aspropyrgos facility. 33. The Athens Airport Centre continued to operate along the lines described in the report on the CPT’s 2009 visit16. At the time of the 2011 visit, the unit for male irregular migrants17 was severely overcrowded: the nine “single-occupancy” cells (each 9m²) were in fact holding a total of 49 men and four women. Many detained persons had to sleep on mattresses, or just blankets, placed directly on the floor. The average length of detention was said to be one to two weeks but the delegation came across persons who had been held in the centre for over 50 days. Further, detained persons were not offered any outdoor exercise and were only let out of the cells for a few minutes in the morning and the evening in order to clean themselves, and the delegation heard many complaints that detainees were not let out of the cells when they requested to go to the toilet. 14 15 16 17 See CPT/Inf (2001) 18, paragraph 68. In the response to the 2007 visit report, the Greek authorities stated that the capacity of the Piraeus facility would not exceed 30 persons (see CPT/Inf (2008) 4, page 10). See, respectively, CPT/Inf (2008) 3, paragraph 22 and CPT/Inf (2009) , paragraph 39. See CPT/Inf (2010) 33, paragraph 65. The three rooms accommodating asylum seekers were holding 24 persons at the time of the visit.