None of those asked said they had seen a doctor. Medicines were not allowed in detainees’ possession as the police were concerned about detainees overdosing. One man wanted to see the dentist. Another man said he had problems with his heart and had not seen a doctor, and claimed his prescribed medication had been confiscated. Family and women’s area The family/women’s area was a cleaner environment than the men’s corridor. The rooms had bunk beds and the doors were left open to allow some freedom of movement. There was graffiti in this area too, although the majority of it looked like children’s drawings and was colourful and inoffensive. Five women were in the area with one child, spread across three rooms. There were two reasonably clean bathrooms. We were told that the majority of women would be transferred to Petrou Ralli and indeed saw some of them at that centre when we visited it the next day (see below). The women’s main concern was a lack of legal support and not knowing what was happening with their cases. One of the women was from Iraq. The NPM wanted to speak to her because her husband, who was in the men’s corridor, had told them that she was very ill. Initially they spoke to her in English and she was getting very frustrated because she could not understand. A Somali woman tried to help her communicate by speaking English more slowly. The woman said that she anted to go to the doctor and also to see her husband. The NPM advised her to tell the police that she needed to see the doctor. The police later brought a detainee from another area to interpret for her as the NPM wanted to establish the nature of her medical problems. The woman said (through the detainee interpreter) that the police had told her that her chronic illness had not arisen as a result of her detention and was therefore not their concern. This position was later confirmed to the NPM by the police themselves. She and her husband had travelled to Europe to obtain treatment for her. The NPM told her about legal aid through the detainee interpreter. The NPM spoke to an asylum-seeking woman and her child. She had no identity or travel documents and was suspected of trying to travel to Iraq. Her case appeared complex and it was likely that she and her child would stay in detention for an extended period of time. The NPM said that they would refer her to the Greek Council for Refugees, which provides free legal aid. Transit zone The detainees held in this area had been arrested trying to enter Greece. These men did not want to apply for asylum and had passports or travel documents. They were not subject to any current criminal charges; some may have had a criminal charge in Greece previously, which prevented them from entering the country. The rooms in this section were more spacious than in the main men’s corridor. They had bunk beds and space to move around, but were featureless and in some places dirty. There were six bunk beds in one room holding two men. Both men were unhappy about the conditions they were in. The doors to the rooms were open, allowing some limited free movement in the small detention area. 23