36 FRONTIER EUROPE Human rights abuses on Greece’s border with Turkey 51 UN General Assembly, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau: Addendum – Greece, 18 April 2013, Paragraphs 48 and 49, available at: http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/23/46/Add.4. 52 The Greek government responded to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, following his visit to Greece, writing that Initial Reception Centres “do not constitute detention centres,” since although being guarded “all accommodated migrants have the right to apply for leave at any time.” See Paragraph 36 of the addendum dated 19 April 2013 to the Special Rapporteur’s report available at: http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/23/46/Add.5. As described by the UN Special Rapporteur, these centres are clearly places where migrants are deprived of their liberty, as they are not free to leave the centres as they wish. 53 At the time of Amnesty International’s visit in April 2013, the Metaxades Border Guard Station was only holding third country nationals accused of either human smuggling or else of resistance, causing serious bodily harm and damaging government property during a riot that took place at the Komotini Immigration Detention Centre in November 2012. Previously in October 2012, detainees went on hunger strike in the Komotini Immigration Detention Centre protesting against poor detention conditions and alleged ill-treatment. Against this backdrop, the November riot allegedly started when a police officer in the centre tore a Qur’an belonging to the detainees. Amnesty International has also received allegations that during this riot, police severely beat many of the detainees and threw tear gas inside their dormitories. As a result, several detainees were reportedly transferred to the hospital to have their injuries treated. In April 2013, the local authorities told Amnesty that an investigation was being conducted into the incident. 54 Interviews held with the authorities in Tychero and Metaxades border guard stations and Mytilini police station in April 2013. 55 Komotini and Fylakio immigration detention centres; Metaxades and Soufli border guard stations. 56 Detainees at the Fylakio Initial Reception Centre did not complain of lack of access to proper health care. At the time of Amnesty International’s visit to the facility on 15 April 2013, the NGO - Medical Intervention (Med.In) – was providing medical and psychological assistance to detainees there. 57 Telephone interview held with Mr Anastopoulos of KEELPNO on 11 June 2013 confirmed that relevant funding had been exhausted at the end of April 2013, and that KEELPNO would not be able to provide medical services in the region until new funding was provided. The European Refugee Fund funded the KEELPNO programme in the region which covered Komotini, Xanthi and Fylakio immigration detention centres, and Ferres, Tychero and Soufli border guard stations. 58 Between 2009 and the end of 2012, the European Court of Human Rights has found Greece in breach of Article 3 in 11 cases concerning the detention conditions of refugees and migrants held in immigration detention centres or border guard stations [see for example the European Court of Human Rights judgments M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece (Application No. 30696/09) and Rahimi v. Greece (Application No. 8687/08), Lin v. Greece (Application 58158/10)]. Amnesty International July 2013 Index: 25/008/2013