86  Eleni Koutsouraki j Indefinite Detention of Undesirable and Unreturnable TCNs in Greece organisations2 and civil society organisations.3 In 2013, the Greek Ombudsman pointed out that the use of administrative detention for TCN’s in Greece, which should be a limited administrative measure applied only if necessary in view of deportation/removal, had become a general practice even in cases where it was legally impossible to remove foreign nationals from the country.4 The systematic use of detention, even where expulsion is not a realistic prospect, had also been noted by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in his report following his visit to Greece in 2013.5 This article discusses the shortcomings and the current challenges of Greek law and practice concerning the use of immigration detention, specifically as concerns “undesirable and unreturnable” TCNs. “Undesirable” TCNs in this article refer to those who are considered to constitute a danger to national security and/or public order, who are arrested due to their lack of documentation and placed under detention in view of removal. Unfortunately, it is beyond the scope of this article to consider TCNs with valid residence permits convicted of criminal offences, whose expulsion and subsequent deprivation of liberty falls within the jurisdiction of the courts. “Unreturnable” here refers to the lack of a feasible prospect of removal, on account of legal or practical obstacles such as Greece’s international human rights obligations and situations in which a removal order cannot be executed because, for example, the consular representation of the country of origin of the TCN does not 2 3 4 5 networks/european_migration_network/reports/docs/emn-studies/12a-greece_detention_study_ august2014_en.pdf (last visited 3 Dec. 2016). United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Statement upon the Conclusion of its Mission to Greece (21–31 January 2013), 31 Jan. 2013, available at: https://www.ecoi.net/local_link/238325/347421_en.html (last visited 3 Dec. 2016); UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Addendum: Mission to Greece, UN Doc. A/HRC/23/46/Add.4, 18 Apr. 2013, paras. 42–67; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Observations on Administrative Detention of Third Country Nationals, Including AsylumSeekers, in Greece, Athens, UNHCR Greece, 29 Aug. 2013, available at: http://www.unhcr.gr/fileadmin/ Greece/Extras/other/Detention_Observations_by_Head_of_Office_EN_2013.pdf (last visited 3 Dec. 2016); Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, Report by Nils Muiznieks Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Following his Visit to Greece from 28 January to 1 February 2013, CommDH(2013)6, 16 Apr. 2013, paras. 141 and 142; Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Migration and Asylum: Mounting Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Doc. 13106, 23 Jan. 2013, paras. 26–34, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/51384f992.html (last visited 3 Dec. 2016). Human Rights Watch (HRW), Unwelcome Guests, Greek Police Abuses of Migrants in Athens, New York, HRW Report, 12 Jun. 2013, available at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/06/12/unwelcome-guests/ greek-police-abuses-migrants-athens (last visited 3 Dec. 2016); Amnesty International, Submission to Council of Europe Committee of Ministers: M.S.S. v Belgium and Greece, Application No 30696/09, Strasbourg, Amnesty International, 15 Feb. 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/513095672. html (last visited 3 Dec. 2016); Doctors Without Borders, Medical Assistance to Migrants and Refugees in Greece: Findings from MSF’s Intervention in Detention Facilities for Migrants, January–April 2013, 2013, available at: http://www.msf.org.uk/sites/uk/files/greece_refugees_2013.pdf (last visited 3 Dec. 2016); and Doctors Without Borders, Invisible Suffering: Prolonged and Systematic Detention of Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Substandard Conditions in Greece, 1 Apr. 2014, available at: http://www.msf.org/sites/msf.org/ files/invisible_suffering.pdf (last visited 3 Dec. 2016). Greek Ombudsman, Monitoring Visits in Amigdaleza, Korinthos and Attica Directorate of Aliens (Petrou Ralli): Problems and Suggestions, 29 May 2013, available in Greek at: http://www.synigoros.gr/resources/ diapistwseis-stp-29-05-2013–2.pdf (last visited 3 Dec. 2016). Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights, Report by Nils Muiznieks Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Following his Visit to Greece from 28 January to 1 February 2013. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/rsq/article-abstract/36/1/85/2888417 by Lancaster University user on 19 December 2017