ENTER AT YOUR PERIL Lives put at risk at the gate of europe © Georgios Giannopoulos poor conditions in detention In April 2013, Amnesty International visited some of the facilities in Greece where irregular migrants and asylumseekers are being detained: eight near the land border with Turkey and one on Lesvos. Although the detainees – mostly young men, but also some women and even unaccompanied children – are often held for months, some facilities lacked any outside space for fresh air and exercise. In other facilities with outside space, detainees claimed that they were not regularly allowed outside. Communication with the outside world is severely restricted. Mobile phones are banned at almost all facilities and public phones charge high rates for international calls. Many detainees have not been able to speak to their families for months since their money ran out. Some facilities were visibly dirty and detainees complained that there was a lack of basic hygiene products like soap and shampoo and that they had to sleep on bedding that was not washed for months. In two facilities, detainees complained that they had to call the guards whenever they needed to relieve themselves, as there were no toilets in their cells. They claimed that as their calls sometimes went unanswered for hours, they had to urinate in bottles. chiLdren detained Children are not spared the harsh conditions in Greece. Three unaccompanied boys from Afghanistan had been held in the Soufli Border Guard Station for more than three months at the time of Amnesty International’s visit. One was confirmed as a minor after medical tests and the other two were waiting for their age test results. They shared a small cell without much space to walk around. Although the facility had a fenced yard, the boys said that they were not able to go out daily to get fresh air or exercise because the weather had been cold. the Iasmos police station. The two boys were being held in adjoining cells in the police station, sleeping on mattresses on the cement floor. H., from Afghanistan, had been detained in Komotini with adults for eight months until he was finally documented as a minor and transferred to Iasmos. The facility had no outside space or indoor exercise or leisure area. H. had already been there for about a month; the second boy, from Côte d’Ivoire, had been there a few weeks. Neither had any information about how much longer they might be held until space opened up in a shelter for children. They were visibly distressed and appeared in need of psychological support. above left: Migrants inside a detention facility on the island of Samos, June 2009. Amnesty International also spoke to two unaccompanied boys aged 16 and 17 in index: eur 25/007/2013 above: Fylakio immigration detention centre in the Evros region, Greece. (CC BY-SA 3.0) Amnesty International July 2013 7