This report is written by I Have Rights, a non-profit law
clinic that provides assistance to people on the move
at all stages of the asylum procedure on Samos. I Have
Rights engages in advocacy and strategic litigation
focusing on (i) ending the detention of people on the
move, (ii) ending the illegal practice of pushbacks and
(iii) defending the right of people to seek asylum. I
Have Rights seeks to raise awareness of ongoing state
practices leading to human rights violations and
challenge their impact on the rights of those seeking
protection in Europe. The drafting of this report was
supported by Ellen Allde, a Leverhulme Doctoral Scholar
based out of the School of Law at Queen Mary University
of London.
The Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC)
is a site designated by the Greek State to identify,
process and accommodate asylum seekers upon
arrival in Greece. The CCAC is a prison-like structure,
situated in an isolated area on the hotspot island of
Samos, where asylum seekers are subject to constant
surveillance and extreme resttions of movement. This
report aims to show that the conditions of the Samos
CCAC constitutes (i) systemic breaches of the right to
liberty and security under Article 5 of the ECHR; and (ii)
systemic inhuman and degrading treatment under
Article 3 ECHR. The report highlights that the operation
of the CCAC by the Greek State as a site of de facto
detention, facilitates an evasion of the implementation
of safeguards, leaving those in the CCAC both subject
to unlawful deprivation of their liberty; and without
access to safeguards.
Page 2