As the ECtHR has made clear, although the human rights situation in a detaining country must be assessed to determine whether prohibited treatment is likely to occur, liability for violations under the ECHR will be incurred by a sending party “by reason of its having taken action which has as a direct consequence the exposure of an individual to the risk of proscribed ill-treatment”139 In M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece the court emphasizes that there are two components to the violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment: 1) taking action that in fact contributes to the exposure of a person to inhuman and degrading treatment; and 2) having knowledge that the action will have that result. Both these conditions are necessary for such a violation to occur. Neither of them alone is sufficient. Frontex consistently and repeatedly took action during RABIT 2010 that exposed migrants and refugees to inhuman and degrading treatment in the detention facilities in Evros. Most notably, this occurred when border guards participating in Frontex patrols apprehended migrants that they knew would be held in facilities where the conditions were inhuman and degrading. Nearly 12,000 migrants were apprehended and transferred to the Greek facilities during the RABIT deployment.140 Of course guards deployed by Frontex neither apprehended nor transported all of these migrants, but the agency directly or indirectly had a hand in their apprehension and transfer to detention centers and, thus, in their subsequent detention in inhuman and degrading conditions. As documented in this report, upon apprehending migrants and transferring them to Greek custody, Frontex personnel knew or should have known what the conditions were in the detention facilities where these migrants would be detained. Frontex sent a mission to visit detention facilities before the start of the RABIT deployment, which witnessed sub-standard conditions, and Frontex addressed the Greek government to change such conditions, once again reflecting knowledge of inhuman and degrading conditions.141 Leaving no doubt about its knowledge, Frontex wrote to Human Rights Watch on March 29, 2011, saying: Frontex staff was constantly present in the Evros area in October 2010 in the framework of the ongoing projects JO Poseidon 2010 Land and Attica 2010. Having put in place the operational reporting systems and regular 139 140 141 Mamatkulov and Askarov v. Turkey [GC], nos. 46827/99 and 46951/99, § 67, ECHR 2005-I. Frontex letter to Human Rights Watch, March 29, 2011. Human Rights Watch interview with Wahlström and staff, Piraeus, February 15, 2011. THE EU’S DIRTY HANDS 48