- 65 D. Foreign nationals held under aliens legislation 1. Preliminary remarks 109. In the report on the 2013 visit, the CPT examined in detail the situation of irregular migrants detained in both pre-departure centres and in special holding facilities, and looked at the implementation of the Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management. At the time of the 2015 visit, the main legislative provisions governing detention and deportation of irregular migrants from Greece had not changed since 2013.72 They remained Law 3386/2005 on the entry residence and social integration of third-country national on Greek territory, as amended, and Law 3907/2011, also as amended, which transposed the provisions of the EU Return Directive 2008/115/EC into Greek law as well as establishing an Asylum Service and First Reception System. However, the new government acted on 17 February 2015 announcing several policy changes, notably: alternatives to detention would be implemented and more open reception facilities created, the maximum period of detention would be limited to six months and individuals who are detained for long periods would be gradually released, and persons belonging to vulnerable groups as well as asylum seekers would be immediately released. Further, the previous Ministerial decision allowing for detention beyond 18 months was revoked. As a consequence of this change of policy, the number of persons held in the pre-departure centres has been reduced dramatically. At the time of the visit, the four operational centres were holding 988 persons for a capacity of 5,033. Nevertheless, another 2,000 irregular migrants were being held in police stations and special holding facilities around the country for a nominal capacity of a little more than 5,500. The situation on the islands, notably Lesvos,73 was proving particularly challenging with more and more persons arriving by boat or being rescued at sea – the large majority being refugees from Syria. 110. Immigration detention was not the primary focus of the 2015 visit. Nevertheless, in light of the persistent findings of poor treatment of irregular migrants during previous visits and the long list of detailed recommendations made to the Greek authorities in the report on the 2013 visit to improve the situation,74 the CPT considered it important to see to what extent the situation had evolved. To this end, it visited the Corinth pre-departure centre for the first time and paid a followup visit to Petrou Ralli special holding facility for irregular migrants, in addition to visiting numerous police stations. 72 73 74 See the report on the CPT’s 2013 visit: CPT/Inf (2014) 26, paragraphs 57 to 60. The centre on Lesvos was accommodating 368 persons for a capacity of 230 but the authorities were making every effort to ensure that irregular migrants did not spent more than a few weeks in this centre before being transferred to Athens. See CPT/Inf (2014) 26, paragraphs 61, 64, 66, 72, 77, 83, 85, 87, 88 and 89.