Humane and dignified conditions in detention that they were unlawfully detained and awarded them appropriate compensation.309 Another reason for detaining children in non-specialised facilities can be that the authorities consider unrelated adults their ‘family’. This can lead to violations of these children’s special rights as unaccompanied children. For instance, in Bulgaria, despite the prohibition of detention of unaccompanied children,310 the Ombudsman311 and civil society organisations312 have found several cases of detention of unaccompanied children who were ‘attached’ to adults who were not related or, in some cases, even known to them. Ø Other examples of situations in which children may be held in non-specialised facilities include the Metsälä Detention Unit in Finland, a non-specialised facility where children may be held if the child-friendly facility at Joutseno is full. Although unaccompanied children and families always go into the women’s section, they share the common areas with adult men.313 Children have also been detained at Vestre prison in Denmark, in accordance with Section  36 of the Danish Aliens Act, one of them for six days.314 The cells there are locked and there are no special facilities for children. 7.1.3. Short-term holding facilities Whether alone or with their families, children may be held briefly at the border to determine their right to entry, or within the country if they are suspected of violating immigration law. During this time they can be held in rooms at border-crossing points, police stations, first registration centres or other facilities. Time frames are usually rather short, although a proposal has been tabled in Germany to extend deprivation of 309 Lithuania, Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania, Civil Case No. e3K-3–412–690/2015, 14 July 2015. 310 Bulgaria, Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (Закон за чужденците в Република България), 23 December 1998, Article 44(9). 311 Bulgaria, Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria (Омбудсман на Република България) (2016), Annual Report of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria as a National Preventive Mechanism 2015 (Годишен доклад на Омбудсмана на Република България като Национален превантивен механизъм 2015), 15 February 2016, p. 22. 312 Centre for Legal Aid- Voice in Bulgaria (2016), Who gets detained? Increasing the transparency and accountability of Bulgaria’s detention practices of asylum seekers and migrants, Sofia, Bulgaria, European Programme for Integration and Migration, Network of European Foundations. 313 Finland, Metsälä Detention Unit. 314 Denmark, Danish Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing. liberty in transit zones from four to ten days.315 Where non-admitted persons are not kept in the transit zone of an airport,316 police cells or border guards’ facilities are typically used for short-term holding. In some • Estonia uses the general facilities of the Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) for short-term detention. None of these facilities are specially designed to cater for the needs of children.317 • If a person is taken to a police station for identification in Germany, the conditions depend on the police station and the police staff involved.318 • In the United Kingdom, 23 out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales had some separate custody facilities for children and young people.319 An NGO report from 2014 illustrated the challenges in Bulgarian short-term holding facilities at that time. There was no alarm button to call the guards; hygiene standards were low; there were no windows; there was no fresh air; and people were spending more time there than allowed by law. A mother and her three children from Afghanistan were held for over a week in one of five cages dividing an indoor basketball field that had been adapted to accommodate the huge wave of asylum seekers and migrants. They were offered hardly any food. Other migrants complained that they stopped receiving rations after the legal 24-hour detention period had elapsed, were forced to sleep on the floor and sometimes had to wait outside in the cold until late at night before the police allowed them into a building.320 Ø Short-term holding facilities are often not equipped for holding children and are usually not subject to the same level of independent monitoring as immigration detention facilities. The quality of services and treatment is particularly difficult to uphold when arrivals increase and authorities sometimes have to use facilities not intended for detention. 315 Germany, Bundesrat, ‘draft for legislation to better ensure obligation to depart the country is followed’ (Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur besseren Durchsetzung der Ausreisepflicht), 23 February 2017. 316 FRA (2014), Fundamental rights at airports: border checks at five international airports in the European Union, Luxembourg, Publications Office, Section 1.1.2. 317 Estonia, Police and Border Guard Board (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet). 318 Germany, Jesuit Refugee Service, February 2016. 319 United Kingdom, All Party Parliamentary Group on Children (2014) “It’s all about trust”: Building good relationships between children and the police, October 2014. 320 Human Rights Watch (2014), ‘Containment Plan: Bulgaria’s Pushbacks and Detention of Syrian and Other Asylum Seekers and Migrants‘, pp. 31–37. 77