–3– them should have relevant language skills. Further, they should be taught to recognise possible symptoms of stress reactions displayed by detained persons (whether post-traumatic or induced by socio-cultural changes) and to take appropriate action. C. Safeguards during detention 30. Immigration detainees should - in the same way as other categories of persons deprived of their liberty - be entitled, as from the outset of their detention, to inform a person of their choice of their situation and to have access to a lawyer and a doctor. Further, they should be expressly informed, without delay and in a language they understand, of all their rights and of the procedure applicable to them. The CPT has observed that these requirements are met in some countries, but not in others. In particular, visiting delegations have on many occasions met immigration detainees who manifestly had not been fully informed in a language they understood of their legal position. In order to overcome such difficulties, immigration detainees should be systematically provided with a document explaining the procedure applicable to them and setting out their rights. This document should be available in the languages most commonly spoken by those concerned and, if necessary, recourse should be had to the services of an interpreter. 31. The right of access to a lawyer should apply throughout the detention period and include both the right to speak with the lawyer in private and to have him present during interviews with the authorities concerned. All detention facilities for immigration detainees should provide access to medical care. Particular attention should be paid to the physical and psychological state of asylum seekers, some of whom may have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated in the countries from which they have come. The right of access to a doctor should include the right - if a detainee so wishes - to be examined by a doctor of his choice; however, the detainee might be expected to cover the cost of such a second examination. More generally, immigration detainees should be entitled to maintain contact with the outside world during their detention, and in particular to have access to a telephone and to receive visits from relatives and representatives of relevant organisations. D. Risk of ill-treatment after expulsion 32. The prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment englobes the obligation not to send a person to a country where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would run a real risk of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Whether Parties to the Convention are fulfilling this obligation is obviously a matter of considerable interest to the CPT. What is the precise role that the Committee should seek to play in relation to that question? 33. Any communications addressed to the CPT in Strasbourg by persons alleging that they are to be sent to a country where they run a risk of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment are immediately brought to the attention of the European Commission of Human Rights 1. The Commission is better placed than the CPT to examine such allegations and, if appropriate, take preventive action. 1 Since 1 November 1998: “European Court of Human Rights”