29 seeker clearly shows, that the quarantine and authorities during quarantine on Chios. It out- the resulting detention cannot be considered as lines the procedural rights required by the the necessary and least coercive measure. COVID-19 laws in Greece as well as those that Additionally, the quarantine is not closely con- apply when detaining asylum seeker, while il- nected to the purpose of preventing COVID-19 lustrating the factual situation and procedures spread73. Individuals are placed into quarantine for those quarantined. whether they test positive for COVID-19. In fact, several interviewees on Chios were already vac- a. No Detention Order / Lack of Information cinated against COVID-19 when they arrived to Legal Framework Greece, but were placed in the mandatory quar- Greek COVID-19 laws do allow for the tempo- antine, nonetheless. Other practices in the rary confinement of individuals in certain quarantine make it difficult to find that the cases. 74 However, those laws also state that quarantine is closely related to preventing quarantine can only be imposed on a case-by- COVID-19 at all. On Chios, EODY and therefore case basis and by means of an individualised the government does not provide medical care confinement order following a recommenda- in the quarantine. Instead, SMH, a medical aid tion made by EODY—the national public health NGO, is the official medical aid provider. Ac- authority—or by the Committee for the Protec- cording to an employee that had access to the tion of Public Health against COVID-19. 75 This facility, individuals in quarantine are not of- decision must “explicitly state” the specific fered masks unless someone tests positive for public health need for the measure as well as COVID-19. “specify its duration, the bodies responsible for For the reasons stated above, the detention resulting from the quarantine must be considered unlawful and arbitrary in the first place, even without considering the striking procedural and fundamental rights violation described below. its enforcement, any places and establishments where it is to be implemented, the manner of its notification, and any relevant and necessary details for its implementation.”76 Greek, EU, and human rights law also guarantee detained persons the right to access information about their detention and legal proceedings. In this regard, Article 10 RCD – which concerns detention con- 3. Violation of Procedural Rights The following section establishes the violations of procedural rights caused by the Greek ditions – requires Member States to “ensure that applicants in detention are systematically provided with information which explains the rules applied in the facility and set out their rights and obligations in a language which they On this, the European Court of Human Rights sets a high bar-- In a case regarding the mandatory detention of a person with unsound mind, the Court found that medical evidence was needed to prove that the man’s mental state required hospitalization. ECtHR, Judgment of 24 October 1979, Winterwerp v the Netherlands, 6301/73, para 39. 74 Art. 1(2)(e) L. 4682/2020. 75 Art. 1(4)(c) L. 4682/2020 76 Art. 1(3) L. 4682/2020. 73 ‘Quarantine of Asylum Seeker’ – A legal classification of the quarantine practice on Chios