After eighteen days of research by two lawyers , Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division said: "The fact that the detainees may not have papers does not mean they do not have rights. People are being held in ghastly conditions for long periods of time."

The researchers found severe overcrowding. Even on the police’s own admission 150 people lived in a space designed for 80 however the researchers believe that the number of people actually being detained was considerably higher.

Before the researchers arrived the overcrowding was worse as about 40 detainees had just been deported.

So bad was the overcrowding that in the rooms where people slept on dirty mattresses there was no space to walk between the bedding. Others slept in the corridors. In one part of the centre 12 detainees shared four mattresses

None of the detainees were allowed out of doors for recreation. The were no lights at all in any of the rooms, even the corridors were only dimly lit, but the lights were kept on 24 hours a day, disturbing the people who had to sleep in the corridors.

Conditions in the cells was squalid. Though the police claim that ‘many people’ were employed to keep the cells clean, the researchers described them as filthy and unsanitary The centre is infested with cockroaches, which researchers found crawling on the walls, on the water fountain, and on the detainees as they spoke with us.

Due to the lack of light in the individual rooms, cockroaches appeared on the walls in abundance. Detainees complained of finding them in their bedding and crawling on them, both during the day and at night.

Each of the two blocks had a room with three toilets, three showers, and three or four sinks. However, detainees complained that, until recently, the toilets had been malfunctioning and they had to clean themselves after using the toilet with water from old soda bottles. In one of the blocks, only two of the

three toilets were functioning

Each detainee is responsible for washing his own clothes. Piles of laundry litter the bathroom and lines of drying clothing ring the room. Detainees wash their laundry in the same basins used for personal hygiene such as cleaning their teeth.

Detainees have to buy soaps and toilet paper with their own money and many claimed that police officers selling these products charged them excessive amounts for them.

The food provided for detainees was also the cause of much concern. Human Rights watch investigators found that the amount provided for the evening meal was insufficient for an adult male.

Only midday and evening meals were provided. Breakfast was not on the menu, detainees had to purchase coffee and a morning meal from police officers out of their personal accounts.

The lack of medical provision was also a matter of serious concern to Human Rights Watch. The Athens’ police claim detainees need only to ask for medical attention for it to be provided, in practice detainees often go without medical treatment.

For example, a 25 year old Pakistani man made frequent request for medical attention for his severe rectal bleeding, though numerous other detainees could see he was ill, he got no medical attention

A 50 year old Palestinian male needed a doctor to regulate his medication for a long standing blood disorder which was having side affects which meant he could not keep food down, during the seven months he was detained. While the police administered his medication they never got as doctor to see him.

A Romanian detainee with a heart condition claimed he had been requesting to see a doctor for one month but his requests were ignored.

A Pakistani man whose three fingers were recently sliced off in a work accident was concerned about infection. He had been in the centre for nearly one month and had seen a doctor only once despite repeated requests.

It is also clear that detainees with mental health problems did not get the treatment they deserved

All the well over 150 detainees had the use of only one public telephone for which phone cards needed to purchased. Not all detainees could afford to buy them, and there were long queues to use it.

There was no provision in the Greek system for legal counsel to be made available for detainees under a legal aid scheme. Detainees had to pay for their own.

At least one legal counsel complained that it could take up to half a day to get access to her client. When meetings did take place they were in public within earshot of the police. No private interview rooms were provided.

Tony Goldman: Diversity Online