Public Order Alternate Minister Yanis Panousis visited today a migrant detention centre in Amygdaleza, north of Athens, where a 28-year-old Pakistani national was found hanging in his cell on Friday night.

According to media reports, the man was found in a container serving as a holding cell only a day after his arrival at the centre.

Anti-racism groups rallied outside the centre today, protesting the squalid conditions the illegal migrants are held in.

“I came here to express my deepest shame. Detention centers will soon be history. We have said it before the election and we have repeated it in the House that this situation cannot continue. We only need a few days (to take the necessary measures)” the Alternate Minister said.