729 Cheliotis during which several thousands of suspects were temporarily detained, and many of them, including tourists, were also allegedly subjected to physical abuse by officers (BBC, 10 January 2013). The operation was named after the ancient Greek god of hospitality, Xenios Zeus, and has been portrayed by the Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection, Nikos Dendias, as an effort to restore the human rights of illegal immigrants (SKAI, 6 August 2012), if also, ironically, as part of a broader strategy of deterrence, aimed at turning Greece into an ‘unfriendly destination’ for those considering entering or staying in the country clandestinely (SKAI, 4 October 2012).2 The most controversial developments, however, have occurred on the front of immigration detention, even though Greek state authorities have once more responded with denial to criticism from inside the country and abroad. Immigration detention in Greece Greek law formally provides for the administrative detention of irregular migrants from non-EU (or ‘third’) countries as part of a process whereby their deportation can be organised. At the time of writing, following a series of extensions of the legal maximum duration of administrative detention, irregular migrants may be detained in the country for a period of up to 18 months, until their eventual deportation becomes possible. Similar to pertinent international legislation, Greek law stipulates that administrative detention pending deportation should be used only when there is a risk that the migrant in question might abscond or pose a danger to public safety. In practice, however, Greek authorities enforce detention as a matter of course, automatically and indiscriminately, which raises issues of arbitrariness (ICJ and ECRE, 2013; see also Amnesty International, 2012c; MSF, 2010a; UNHCHR, 2013). As far as asylum seekers are concerned, they must remain in detention until a decision is reached on their application. Yet procedural delays are typically so excessive that asylum seekers whose deportation is deemed unfeasible are often essentially forced to withdraw their application in order to expedite their release (see further MSF, 2010a), whilst the long legal maximum duration of detention for asylum seekers, also raised to 18 months for those who lodge an asylum application once detained, is perceived by many as a means of dissuading them from seeking international protection in the first instance (UNHCHR, 2013; see also Amnesty International, 2010, 2012c). Upon arrest, irregular migrants are routinely subject to a temporary detention order that is issued by local police authorities and does not need to be approved by a judge. Temporary detention may last up to three days, during which time an administrative deportation order must be issued in order for detention to continue further without contravening pertinent legislation. Indeed, the deportation order is usually accompanied by an order for the continuation of detention. Most detention orders only briefly state that the individual concerned is considered to be at risk of absconding or poses a danger to public safety, but they provide no evidence or additional details in either of these respects. Although practices may vary from one locality to another, but also according to the nationality of the apprehended migrant, the vast majority of migrants are held in detention beyond the initial three-day period. Not all remain in detention until its legal maximum duration is reached, because, for example, preparations for deportation are Downloaded from euc.sagepub.com at Oxford University Libraries on November 25, 2013