- 17 5. Conditions of detention in special facilities for irregular migrants and police holding facilities a. introduction 37. In the course of the 2008 visit to Greece, the CPT’s delegation undertook follow-up visits to police holding facilities in the Attica prefecture (the holding facilities of the Attica Aliens division at Petrou Ralli Street and in Aspropyrgos) and to Special Facilities for Irregular Migrants in Amygdaleza and Mytilini. It also visited for the first time the Special Facility for Irregular Migrants in Filakio17 and the Holding Facility of the Thessaloniki Aliens Police. The Special Facilities for Irregular Migrants in Peplos and in Vrissika were closed at the time of the visit. However, from information received from the Greek authorities the CPT understands that these facilities may be reopened in the future. In the past, the CPT has stated that both facilities offered unacceptable detention conditions18. At a minimum, the Peplos and Vrissika centres should be fully reconstructed and extensively refurbished before being reopened19. 38. In principle, within a few days after apprehension, irregular migrants are transferred from a police or border guard station to a police holding facility or, in some prefectures, to a special facility for irregular migrants under the joint responsibility of the Hellenic Police Force, the region and the prefecture20. However, because of the soaring influx of irregular migrants into Greece, the special facilities for irregular migrants and the police holding facilities are often operating at full capacity, resulting in many irregular migrants being either detained in police or border guard stations for weeks and even months or released rapidly. The Greek authorities intend to enhance the number of special facilities for irregular migrants by opening new detention centres in Lesbos and in the Patras area. In addition, at the time of the CPT’s visit, a new special facility for irregular migrants was in the process of being opened in Sparta. Despite these plans, the authorities should always be prepared for the arrival of irregular migrants in numbers that surpass the average. In order to avoid situations such as encountered by the CPT in Mytilini21, contingency plans should be drawn up well in advance. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities put in place a contingency plan to enable them to cope with such a massive influx of irregular migrants. 17 18 19 20 21 A CPT’s delegation had visited the Filakio facility in February 2007, before it was brought into service. See CPT/ Inf (2006) 41, paragraph 60 and CPT/ Inf (2008) 3, paragraph 30. From discussion with police officers based in the Alexandroupoli Prefecture, the CPT understands that the Hellenic Police Force holds a similar view in respect of the reopening of the Peplos facility. According Article 76 of the 2005 Aliens Law, the administrative detention of irregular migrants has a maximum duration of three months. See paragraph 40 below.