- 26 It should also be noted that even in the other dedicated detention facilities for irregular
migrants, access to medical staff was severely restricted due to the huge demand for medical
attention and the fact that in several of the facilities, doctors did not go into the cells (Venna) or
even the detention area (Mytilini).
47.
The delegation met many detained persons in police and border guard stations who suffered
from skin infestations, such as scabies. This was particularly the case for irregular migrants, most of
whom had been detained without having undergone a medical examination upon admission. It also
appeared that detention areas would not always be properly disinfected following an outbreak of a
skin infestation. The CPT was told that members of the Greek Police are themselves preoccupied
with the health situation in police detention facilities and have, through the Police Union, called for
an assessment. As the CPT has already recommended (see paragraph 35), all newly arrived
detainees in police and border guard stations should be screened by a doctor.
4.
Conditions of detention in establishments under the Ministry of Interior40
a.
police and border guard stations
i.
material conditions
48.
In the reports on the 2005, 2007 and 2008 visits, the CPT qualified the conditions of
detention in police and border guard stations as “grim”, noting the severe overcrowding, poor
material conditions, absence of ventilation and hygienic problems. Regrettably, this description
remained valid for the conditions observed in most stations visited in the course of the 2009 visit to
Greece. The conditions were particularly poor at Athens Omonia Police Station, Feres Border
Guard Station, Patras Police Headquarters and Xanthi Police and Border Guard Station, as well as
at the Patras Transfer Centre.
49.
Police and border guard facilities continue to be overcrowded and in all but a few
establishments (such as the Thessaloniki Monasteriou Police Station and the Piraeus Moschatou
Police Station) detained persons were observed sleeping on the floor. In certain establishments,
overcrowding would regularly reach severe levels; for instance, at the time of the visit, Feres Border
Guard Station was holding 50 irregular migrants in two cells of approximately 48m² each, with an
additional 13 irregular migrants placed together for a number of hours in an adjacent holding cell of
12 m². At Patras Police Headquarters, 24 detained persons were sharing four cells with a total
surface of less than 30 m² on 19 September and, at Mytilini Police Headquarters 25 persons were
being held in three cells with a combined floor space of less than 34 m², on 23 September.
40
Following the CPT’s visit of September 2009, a new Ministry of Citizen Protection was established, with
responsibility for the police, coast guard and fire brigade. The Ministry of Interior remains responsible for the
management of the special detention facilities for irregular migrants.
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