732 European Journal of Criminology 10(6) floor, their smell combining with body and garbage odours to create a suffocating and deeply unhealthy atmosphere for detainees (but also for guards, at least some of whom have been found to wear surgical masks as a protective measure; see further FRA, 2011; Human Rights Watch, 2011). According to various reports, food provision is usually substandard both in terms of quality and quantity, and drinking water is often dirty and only available from latrines and showers (Amnesty International, 2012c; Ios, 9 December 2012; MSF, 2010a; Pro Asyl, 2007, 2012). Medical provision, meanwhile, has been minimal due to a lack of specialist staff, medication and proper facilities, and guards may sometimes actively discourage or otherwise hinder detainees from seeking medical care. Even health screening of new detainees upon their reception tends to be either insufficient or entirely absent, and medical NGOs such as Doctors of the World are largely relied upon to fill the gaps. This is despite the fact that the majority of immigrant detainees in Greece are known to be suffering from such health problems as respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, skin diseases or depression, which are linked, directly or indirectly, to the long duration of their detainment under deplorable conditions (see further CPT, 2009, 2010, 2012; ICJ and ECRE, 2013; MSF, 2010a, 2010b; Pro Asyl, 2012).5 To a significant extent, detainees are trapped and secluded in those conditions. Outdoor access has been found to be a rare occurrence in various centres, whilst centre yards, when they exist at all, tend to be too small and unprotected from harsh weather conditions. More broadly, communication with the outside world is particularly difficult for detainees. At times, this is partly because detention centres are geographically isolated, as in the case of the centre in Fylakio, half an hour’s drive outside the city of Orestiada. Geographical matters aside, however, entry into detention centres may be restricted or otherwise obstructed by the authorities for lawyers and representatives of NGOs, and basic means of communication, such as card-phones, are regularly unavailable for detainees or simply impossible to use (e.g. phones are often not working, and detainees lack the financial means necessary to purchase cards with which to make calls). At the same time, detainees are faced with serious difficulties in terms of lodging asylum applications, ranging from unawareness of pertinent requirements, to inability to read relevant legal documentation, to a lack of professional translators and interpreters, to insufficient financial means necessary for hiring a lawyer, to excessive bureaucratic delays and even denial of access to the procedure itself (see further Human Rights Watch, 2011; Ios, 9 December 2012; MSF, 2010a, 2010b; Pro Asyl, 2007, 2012; SKAI, 4 October 2012). The plight of immigrant detainees is further exacerbated by the violent treatment to which members of detention staff may reportedly subject them on a frequent basis. Such violence can range from racist verbal abuse, to destruction of detainees’ religious symbols, to aggressive body searches and direct physical assaults (e.g. slaps, punches, kicks, beatings with clubs). Indeed, assaults by guards are known to have caused serious injuries, at times so serious that victims were in need of hospitalisation. In the absence of a credible complaints procedure and an adequately resourced and independent inspectorate, staff violence appears to be treated with impunity, hence it has even taken place in front of witnesses such as NGO workers (see further Amnesty International, 2012c; FRA, 2011; Human Rights Watch, 2011; MSF, 2010a; Pro Asyl, 2007, 2012; SKAI, 4 Downloaded from euc.sagepub.com at Oxford University Libraries on November 25, 2013