GREECE IRREGULAR MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS ROUTINELY DETAINED IN SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS 51 6 “Greece: Amnesty International reiterates its serious concerns about detention conditions for asylumseekers following ruling of the European Court of Human Rights”, 12 June 2009 (AI Index: EUR 25/006/2009). 7 S.D. v Greece, Judgment of 11 June 2009 (Application No. 53541/2007). The ECtHR also found a violation of Article 5 (4) ECHR (see section 3.4 below). 8 Amnesty International, “The new legislative amendment on migrants is an unpleasant surprise: It constitutes a gross violation of human rights”, public statement, 23 June 2009 (in Greek).The relevant provision is Article 76(3) of Law 3386/2005 on “the entry, residence and social integration of thirdcountry nationals on Greek territory”. 9 No response to this letter has been received to date from the Greek authorities. 10 Greece: The Dublin II Trap: Transfers of asylum-seekers to Greece, 22 March 2010 (AI Index: EUR 25/001/2010), pp 11-15. 11 Tabesh v Greece, Judgment of 26 November 2009 (Application No. 8256/07), paras 20–44. The applicant applied for asylum a few weeks after his release. The ECtHR also found a violation of Article 5(4) ECHR (see section 3.4. below). 12 The ECtHR concluded that, in view of its findings of a violation of Article 3 of the ECHR regarding conditions of detention at the Thessaloniki Aliens’ Police Directorate, it was not necessary to examine the detention conditions at the borderguard station of Kordelio separately (Tabesh v Greece, Judgment of 26 November 2009 (Application No. 8256/07), paras 20–44). 13 In S.D. v Greece, the ECtHR noted that Presidential Decree 61/1999 (in force at the time when the material facts of the case took place) did not contain an explicit provision regarding the legality of detention of those who have applied for asylum. It went on to note that Greek law stipulated that detention for the purposes of administrative deportation could be justified only when the deportation can take place, and drew attention to the fact that an asylum-seeker could not be deported until a decision had been reached on the asylum claim (Judgment of 11 June 2009, para 62). 14 The relevant provision is Article 13(1) of the Presidential Decree 90/2008. See also, Greek Ombudsman, “The European Court of Human Rights convicts Greece for detention of asylum-seeker”, Press release, 7 July 2009. 15 Tabesh v Greece, Judgment of 26 November; see also recommendations in HLHR Report, op.cit., p 12. 16 CommDH (2010) 13, Strasbourg, 8 March 2010. 17 Press release, Deputy Minister of Citizens’ Protection, 16 December 2009, at http://www.yptp.gr. 18 The plans also include management by a special committee of the large number of asylum applications that have accumulated. Furthermore, a Special Standing Committee was established to draft a Presidential Decree with provisions for the interim period and a draft law on the new asylum determination procedures (see Reply of the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection regarding the remarks and recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, 31 March 2010, Ref: F.092.22/2311); see also the recent proposals of UNHCR Office in Greece on the proposed reforms on asylum determination procedures in “Reception- Recognition- Integration,” press release, 16 June 2010, 2010, at http://www.unhcr.gr/Press-Rel/2010/dt16-06-2010.htm. 19 Summary of the Working Group’s proposals, 14 April 2010, at http://www.yptp.gr; Deputy Minister of Citizens’ Protection press release, 14 April 2010, at http://www.yptp.gr; statement by Head of the Greek Office UNHCR, 14 April 2010, at http://www.unhcr.gr. 20 The proposed general procedures are in the following order: provision of information to those newly arrived about the status of the centre, the grounds on which they are being held and their rights and obligations; initial registration of data; initial heath check-up within two days of the first arrival; initial social evaluation, needs of international protection and completion of basic questionnaire; provision of complementary support services (special social, psychological, legal and medical assistance) in accordance with the evaluation of individual needs, and special services and care for unaccompanied Index: EUR 25/002/2010 Amnesty International July 2010