E/CN.4/2003/85 page 11 stations. The Special Rapporteur visited some facilities where the absence of public telephones and the fact that the migrants had to pay for calls discouraged or prevented contacts with consular representatives. 28. According to the Body of Principles, persons under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be informed at the time of arrest of the reason for the arrest, as well as of their rights and how to avail themselves of those rights in a language they understand. Also, detained persons should have the assistance, free of charge, of an interpreter in connection with legal proceedings subsequent to arrest. Further, a detained person is entitled to have the assistance of a legal counsel, to be informed of that right and to be provided with facilities for exercising it. Detained persons also should have the right to be visited by and correspond with members of their families. 29. In practice detainees are often not informed of their right to appeal and of the status of their situation. Often they are unaware of the grounds for their detention and of its duration. It was reported that in some cases it is difficult for migrants under administrative detention to have access to their files and often migrants are only informed at a very late stage of the date of hearings. All these circumstances, coupled at times with the absence of legal assistance, seriously curtail migrants’ right to defence. 30. Under the legislation of a number of countries no free legal services are available for administrative proceedings. Furthermore, often migrants are not informed, in a language they understand, of their rights to instruct and retain counsel. The Special Rapporteur received information that some migrant holding facilities do not allow visits from or confidential conversations with lawyers. Incidents in which detainees have been denied access to lawyers have also been reported to the Special Rapporteur, as well as cases of lawyers who had difficulty in locating their clients after a transfer. 31. During her visits and through answers to the questionnaire the Special Rapporteur was informed that migrants who do not speak the language of the country where they are detained have no access to translation services. Pertinent information on rights and procedures is sometimes only provided in the national language, and sometimes a few other languages. Detainees with some knowledge of the local language are sometimes requested to act as interpreters for others or translation is provided by telephone. According to the information received, in many instances interpretation is available only during judicial or administrative proceedings. 32. As for visits of families and friends, time and conditions vary from facility to facility and from country to country. The Special Rapporteur received information about migrants in administrative detention who were allowed to meet with their relatives and friends only for a very short period, separated by glass and in the presence of immigration or other officials. Incidents in which families were not informed of the whereabouts of the detainees were reported to the Special Rapporteur. 33. When administrative custody centres are not monitored and inspected by external mechanisms, and in particular when migrants are held in facilities that are not easily accessible, abuse and violence are more frequent. In the absence of a lawyer and interpreters, migrants often