- 24 c. access to a lawyer 39. The Greek authorities have reiterated in their responses that the right of access to a lawyer is inviolable and should apply as from the outset of deprivation of liberty12. Despite this clear legal obligation, the CPT’s delegation heard a number of claims that access to a lawyer had been delayed for periods up to three days. In most of these cases, the persons concerned alleged that they were illtreated during their arrest and interrogation. Many, though not all, of these persons were foreigners. In this connection, it is also incumbent upon the authorities to ensure that an interpreter is made available for persons not speaking Greek so as to enable them to communicate with a lawyer, a duty recognised by the authorities in their response to the 2001 visit report13. The CPT recommends that the Greek authorities reiterate to all law enforcement personnel the legal obligation to grant access to a lawyer from the very outset of a person’s deprivation of liberty and, when appropriate, to arrange for the presence of an interpreter. d. access to a doctor 40. The legal provisions concerning the right of access to a doctor are satisfactory. However, in the light of the information gathered by the delegation, it is clear that the right was not fully effective in practice. Police stations do not have a doctor visiting regularly to screen new arrivals or enquire whether there are detainees with particular medical problems. Instead the practice seems to be that the arresting police officers decide whether a person has a medical problem and, if so, to take them to hospital. Thereafter, it was up to the individual to request to see a doctor but, according to persons seen by the delegation, these requests appeared to be filtered by the police officers and sometimes the doctors did not come. Further, the delegation heard in several establishments visited that detained persons were not receiving the medication prescribed to them if they were not in a position to pay for it. By way of example, at Omonia Police Station a woman who was eight months pregnant claimed that she had requested to see a gynaecologist but apparently had been granted access only after she had fainted; thereafter, as she stated, she could not obtain the prescribed medication as she had no money. At Athens Police Headquarters a man with asthma complained to the delegation that he had informed the duty officers of his need for an inhalation spray, but had had no response. Further, four of the five persons held in these two establishments and referred to in paragraph 13 above alleged that they were denied access to a doctor. 12 13 ibid, and Circular of 4 July 2003 by the Greek Chief of Police (No. 4803/22/44). cf. CPT/Inf (2002) 32, page 22.