Introduction The first of its kind, the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) is one of five CCACs constructed in Greece.[1] Funded in its entirety by the European Union (EU) through the Asylum, Migration & Integration Fund, the construction of the Samos CCAC cost the EU taxpayer €43 million,[2] with a total of over a quarter of a billion euros of EU funds going towards the construction of other CCACs in Greece.[3] Heralded by the European Commission and Greece alike as a new and more "humane" approach to migration, it is likely that CCACs will continue to open, not only in Greece but across Europe. Despite the claims of both Greek and EU authorities, both those accommodated in the CCAC and human rights defenders continue to highlight the inhuman nature of these centres.[4] All five current CCACs, including the Samos CCAC, are located on the five hotspot islands of Greece. As such, the restriction on people’s freedom of movement and liberty in CCACs occurs in a context where asylum seekers are already immobilised through being prohibited from leaving the island on which their application is lodged.[5] In this way, CCACs operate in a context where people’s freedom of movement and liberty is already highly restricted. It is also important to situate CCACs against the wider backdrop of pushbacks in Greece. In particular, the two islands with the largest CCACs, Lesvos and Samos, see the first and second highest rates of pushbacks respectively in the Aegean sea.[6] A large percentage of asylum seekers on Samos have experienced at least one pushback, which often include severe human rights violations such as unlawful killings, torture, inhuman treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence.[7] As such, even before arriving at the CCAC, asylum seekers are _____ [1] Ministry of Migration & Asylum. 2023. R.I.C & C.C.A.C. Available here. [2] Ministry of Migration & Asylum. 2023. Closed Controlled Access Center of Samos. Available here. [3] Ylva Johansson. 2023. Spring is the best time to prepare for Winter – why I am visiting Lesvos now. Available here. [4] See for example, Europe Must Act. 2021. "All I Want is to Be Free and Leave" Life in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre. Available here; CCAC resident. 2022. AYS Special from Greece: The Eye —An asylum-seeker’s account on pushbacks and life in Samos Refugee Camp. Available here; International Rescue Committee. 2022. One year since Greece opened new "prison-like" refugee camps, NGOs call for a more humane approach. Available here. [5] ΑΠΟΦΑΣΕΙΣ Αριθμ. 1140 (1) Περιορισμός Κυκλοφορίας των Αιτούντων Διεθνή Προστασία.Ο ΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΣ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΣΙΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΛΙΤΗ [DECISIONS No. 1140 (1) Restriction of Movement of Applicants International Protection. The Minister of Citizen Protection] [6] Forensic Architecture. 2022. Drift-backs in the Aegean sea. Available here. [7] Border Violence Monitoring Network. 2022. Black Book of Pushbacks 2022. Available here. Page 4