140 interpreters. This amounts to approximately six staff members for each pre-removal centre, which are frequently overcrowded and without permanent medical staff on site.141 An online database launched by MIT, BVMN and Border Criminologies in 2024 documents 90 first-hand testimonies reporting 120 human rights violations inside 56 detention sites in Greece, including pre-removal facilities, closed camps, police stations and border guard stations. 142 Testimonies gathered between 2020 and 2024 attest to people being detained for extended periods in degrading conditions such as insect-infested cells and limited access to hot water, sufficient food, and medical care, within prison-like facilities and overcrowded police stations.143 a) De facto detention ______ (1) Samos CCAC Further to the blanket detention of new arrivals in the CCAC on Samos, confinement to the facility is additionally constituted by its isolated location and dehumanising infrastructure. The CCAC is located in a remote location 8 km from the town of Vathy. The facility itself is surrounded by NATO-grade barbed wire (considered in the 2024 CPT Report to be “excessive and unnecessary, and should be removed”)144 fencing and multiple watchtowers.145 Around-the-clock surveillance is carried out by Hellenic police, the private security company G4S, and CCTV using ‘smart’ AI software.146 The sections of the CCAC are separated by internal fencing and checkpoints, forcing people to undergo multiple, daily bodily searches. 147 The European Ombudsman described the infrastructure and surveillance of the CCAC as not creating a “physical environment conducive to wellbeing and are, rather, reminiscent of detention facilities”. 148 Obstructive measures within the CCAC restate the sense of detention, such as waiting several hours in various queues for access to basic services. 149 This includes the weekly census and waiting to enter and exit the facility through the airport-style checkpoint. Above, IHR has noted the failure to provide consistent access to water, laundry services, medical care, and the queues for food up to 7 hours. According to BVMN, 45% of people that were detained in the Samos CCAC reported being subjected to physical violence. 150 Respondents reported that the men inflicting violence were wearing “black masks” covering their faces. 151 Reportedly, they put on gloves before starting to beat people, with one respondent further explaining: “I didn’t have bruises, just pain because they wore gloves on their hands”. 152 All respondents with experience of violence in the quarantine ________________________________ 140. Refugee Support Aegean Policy Note. 2024. Immigration detention in 2023. Available at: https://rsaegean.org/en/immigrationdetention-in-greece-in-2023/#:~:text=Resort%20to%20immigration%20detention,2022%20and%2021%2C044%20in%202021. 141. Mobile Info Team. 2023. “Prison for Papers” Last Resort Measures Used as Standard Procedure. Available at: https://www.mobileinfoteam.org/detention. 142. Detention Landscapes. Available at: https://detentionlandscapes.uwazi.io/ 143. Ibid. 144. Council of Europe. 2024. Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 20 November to 1 December 2023. Para 66. Available at: https://rm.coe.int/1680b0e4e1 145. Greek Council for Refugees and Oxfam International. 2022. Inquiry on Fundamental Rights in the EU-funded Migration Facilities on the Greek Islands Case OI/3/2022/MHZ. Available at: https://www.gcr.gr/media/k2/attachments/CONSULTATION_REPLY_202201225_20230131_180325.pdf. 146. Hellenic Republic Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Available at: https://migration.gov.gr/en/ked-samoy-kleisti-elegchomenidomi-samoy/. 147. I Have Rights. 2023. “They are killing minds”- Life in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre. Available at: https://ihaverights.eu/they-are-killing-minds/. 148. European Ombudsman. 2023. Decision in strategic inquiry OI/3/2022/MHZ on how the European Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece. Para 48. Available at: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/decision/en/170792. 149. Ellen Allde. 2023. ‘Sanctioned ignorance’ and the detention of people seeking asylum in the EU-funded CCAC on Samos. Available at: https://ihaverights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RL-Paper-%E2%80%98Sanctioned-ignorance.pdf 150. Border Violence Monitoring Network. 2024. Violence Within State Borders: Greece. Available at: https://borderviolence.eu/app/uploads/Violence-Within-State-Borders-Greece-1.pdf. 151. Ibid. 152. Ibid. 17