- 10 B. Context of the visit 4. In the ten years since the CPT’s periodic visit of August/September 2005, the Committee has engaged in an intensive dialogue with the Greek authorities with a view to addressing structural deficiencies in the prison service and the facilities used for holding irregular migrants. A further issue of concern relates to the continued absence of effective action when allegations of illtreatment by police officers are brought to the attention of the authorities, leading to a climate of impunity within the Hellenic Police. The periodic visit of April 2013 represented a stock-taking of the situation two years after the Committee had issued a public statement on the situation in Greece. The findings from that visit again pointed to the existence of serious deficiencies within the prison system, with prison establishments merely serving as warehouses for holding prisoners pending their release and a chronic shortage of staff. Conditions for irregular migrants in police detention also remained appalling and the newly created pre-departure centres, despite representing a step forward, continued to be run like police holding cells. Moreover, the problem of ill-treatment by police officers and more particularly the lack of effective investigations into allegations of ill-treatment appeared more acute than in the past. The response of the Greek authorities to the 2013 visit report neither addressed the fundamental issues raised by the Committee nor did it provide reassurance that persons deprived of their liberty would be held in appropriate conditions and treated decently. Therefore, the CPT decided to organise an ad hoc visit to assess for itself the implementation of its previous recommendations. In particular, the CPT’s delegation examined the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the police and the practical application of safeguards surrounding their detention. A specific focus of the visit was to look into the effectiveness of investigations concerning allegations of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials. It also examined the treatment and conditions of detention of inmates in several prison establishments, including Korydallos Prison Hospital, and reviewed the situation of juveniles and foreign nationals deprived of their liberty. C. Consultations held by the delegation and cooperation encountered 5. In the course of the visit, the delegation held consultations with Nikolaos Paraskevopoulos, Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, and Ioannis Panousis, Alternate Minister of Citizen Protection. It also met Eftychios Fytrakis, Secretary General for Crime Policy, Kostis Pappaioannou, Secretary General for Transparency and Human Rights, Ioannis Stalikas, General Director for Crime and Correctional Policy and other senior officials from the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights (hereafter “Ministry of Justice”), as well as with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Social Security (hereafter “Ministry of Health”). Discussions were held with Police Major General Zacharoula Tsirigoti, Head of the Aliens and Border Protection Branch, and other senior officers of the Hellenic Police. The delegation further met representatives from the Legal Council of the State and the Athens Public Prosecutor’s Office. In addition, it met Calliope Spanou, the Ombudsman, and staff of the National Preventive Mechanism, as well as representatives of civil society.