50 M.S.S. v. BELGIUM AND GREECE JUDGMENT Iraqis and Afghans, in unacceptable conditions from the point of view of housing and hygiene standards. During his visit in February 2010, he noted that in spite of the announcement made by the Government in 2008, construction work on a centre capable of housing 1,000 people had not yet started. The police authorities in Patras had informed him that about 70% of the Afghans were registered asylum-seekers and held “pink cards”. He also referred to the case of three Afghans in the region of Patras who had been in Greece for two years, living in cardboard shelters with no help from the Greek State. Only the local Red Cross had offered them food and care. 245. The UNHCR shared the same concern. According to data for 2009, there were 12 reception centres in Greece with a total capacity of 865 places. An adult male asylum-seeker had virtually no chance at all of being offered a place in a reception centre. Many lived in public spaces or abandoned houses or shared the exorbitant cost of a room with no support from the State. According to a survey carried out from February to April 2010, all the “Dublin” asylum-seekers questioned were homeless. At the hearing, the UNHCR emphasised how difficult it was to gain access to the Attica police headquarters – making it virtually impossible to comply with the deadlines set by the authorities – because of the number of people waiting and the arbitrary selection made by the security staff at the entrance to the building. 246. According to the AIRE Centre and Amnesty International, the situation in Greece today is that asylum-seekers are deprived not only of material support from the authorities but also of the right to provide for their own needs. The extreme poverty thus produced should be considered as treatment contrary to Article 3 of the Convention, in keeping with the Court’s case-law in cases concerning situations of poverty brought about by the unlawful action of the State. C. The Court’s assessment 1. Admissibility 247. The Court considers that the applicant’s complaints under Article 3 of the Convention because of his living conditions in Greece raise complex issues of law and fact, the determination of which requires an examination of the merits. 248. It follows that this part of the application is not manifestly illfounded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 of the Convention. Nor is it inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.