- 35 78. According to the information gathered during the visit, several foreign nationals interviewed by the delegation who were – or had recently been – in police custody stated that they had not been granted the right to notify promptly a close relative or third party of their choice of their detention. Further, several persons complained that they were not able to contact a lawyer and/or see a doctor throughout the entire period of their police custody. In particular, access to a lawyer often remained theoretical and illusory for those who did not have the financial means to pay for the services of a lawyer. With the exception of Amygdaleza Pre-removal Centre, the provision of legal advice for issues related to detention and deportation was generally inadequate in the pre-removal centres visited.50 As a result, detainees’ ability to raise objections against their detention or deportation decisions or to lodge an appeal against their deportation was conditional on them being able to access a lawyer. The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that all foreign nationals who are deprived of their liberty by the police under aliens’ legislation are granted the rights of notification of custody, access to a lawyer and access to a doctor and are placed in a position to effectively exercise these rights as from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty. As regards the right of access to a lawyer, this should include the right to have access to legal advice as well as, when foreign nationals are not in a position to pay for a lawyer themselves, the right to benefit from access to free legal aid. 79. In the CPT’s view, irregular migrants should be informed, without delay and in a language they understand, of their rights and the procedure applicable to them. This is all the more important given the lack of interpreters available. Copies of the information leaflet detailing the rights of detained persons in several languages were usually attached to the wall in the corridor outside the detention area in the police and border guard stations visited, as well as, with the exception of Moria Pre-removal Centre, inside the detention compounds in the pre-removal centres visited. However, most detained persons had not been provided with a copy of the leaflet. Moreover, the delegation met again a large number of foreign nationals in the pre-removal centres visited who complained that the information provided was insufficient – particularly concerning their (legal) situation and length of detention – or that they were unable to understand this information. This was partly due to the complex legal framework which allowed for their detention on numerous grounds. Moreover, it appears that the practice of the Greek authorities of depriving of their liberty specific categories of new arrivals on the Aegean islands and in the Evros region on the basis of pre-established criteria – such as a combination of nationality and apparent absence of vulnerability – without an individual assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the measure, adds to the unclear situation. The CPT calls upon the Greek authorities to ensure that detained foreign nationals are systematically and fully informed of their rights, their legal situation (including the grounds for their detention) and the procedure applicable to them as from the very outset of their deprivation of liberty (that is, from the moment when they are obliged to remain with the police), if necessary, with the assistance of a qualified interpreter. Further, all detained persons should be systematically provided with a copy of the leaflet setting out this information in a language they can understand. 50 Only occasionally were such services provided by UNHCR or civil society organisations.