- 35 56. The recent policy change which aimed at no longer holding migrants in an irregular situation in police stations and efforts to no longer systematically keep persons on remand for prolonged periods in police custody have significantly alleviated the situation. By way of example, at the time of the visit, the delegation found 27 detained persons in the 20 cells (not all of which were being used) at Monasteriou General Police Headquarters in Thessaloniki, compared with 81 that were crammed into that detention facility in 2013. The CPT’s delegation was also informed that police officers had received instructions from the Chief of the Hellenic Police, stating that overcrowding in the detention facilities of police stations should be avoided. The CPT’s delegation therefore no longer observed severe overcrowding in the police stations visited. Consequently, some cells in several police stations visited by the delegation were not fully occupied or even not occupied at all. This is a positive and encouraging trend. Most persons deprived of their liberty by the police spent several days or weeks in police custody – nevertheless, some people continued to be held for periods of up to two months. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities ensure that police stations are only used for holding criminal suspects for short periods (i.e. no longer than a few days) in police stations and that they pursue their policy to prevent overcrowding and to avoid, as far as possible, holding irregular migrants in police stations. 57. The delegation also noted positively that the conditions in the main detention facility on the 7th floor of Alexander Street Police Headquarters in Athens had significantly improved compared to the previous visit.37 The entire area had been refurbished; both wings and the sanitation facilities had been modernised and fixed, and the electric installations, air conditioning and heating system had also been repaired. Given that only 24 persons were held in the detention area on the day of the visit, conditions were generally acceptable. Most of the mattresses and blankets were clean and the detained persons did not complain about the conditions. However, the detention areas on the 11th and 12th floors were totally unsuitable for holding detained persons for periods of longer than a few hours.38 The detention facility on the 11th floor contained five cells, three of which were operational (the other two being used to store evidence), while that on the 12th floor contained 10 cells, four of which had cell numbers and were ready for use (the other cells were used to store evidence and old files, etc.). All cells were of a similar shape, measuring around 3.5m2 each with a solid metal door. The cells were almost entirely dark, as they had no access to natural light and artificial light could only be switched on from outside the cells. Each of the operational cells contained nothing but a mattress; in two cells the delegation found a grubby blanket. Both detention areas had a separate sanitary facility, each with a toilet, shower and basin, which were in a filthy state. It was evident that both facilities had been recently used, although this was denied by the officials. 37 38 See CPT/Inf (2014) 27, paragraph 38. The detention facility on the 11th floor is under the authority of the Sub-directorate for Crimes against Life and Property and the one on the 12th floor is run by the Directorate for Special Crimes of Violence (so-called “Anti-terrorist Department”). On both floors, the entry of the detention area was concealed by normal office doors.