32 quarantine on Chios unequivocally constitutes before they’ve filed formal asylum applications administrative detention (cf. Section IV. Thus, with the asylum service.93 This is true regardless the lack of individual assessments and the ab- of whether they are in detention or not.94 Article sence of an individual detention order are per se 8 APD, transposed into Article 66 IPA, requires a violation of the foreseen procedural guaran- Member States to provide people with infor- tees safeguarding the rights of asylum seeker mation on the asylum procedure from the mo- and detainees. Moreover, because the authori- ment there are “indications” that a person ties don’t issue individualised detention orders, wishes to apply for international protection. 95 they consequently do not assess whether quar- However, the right to information extends be- antine is necessary and the least restrictive yond a person’s initial arrival and registration. measure. At the same time, the procedures tak- Article 19 APD, transposed into Article 71 (2) IPA, ing place in Lefkonia suggest that the quaran- requires Member States to ensure that during tine generally fails to meet that standard. For the first instance procedures “applicants are example, two interviewees reported that they provided with legal and procedural information were either partially or fully vaccinated upon free of charge, including, at least, information arrival, yet they were still required to quaran- on the procedure in the light of the applicant’s tine for the full period. Additionally, Greece particular circumstances”. 96 This requires au- lifted all COVID-19 border measures for tourists thorities to, at a minimum, provide an explana- in May 2022, casting serious doubt on whether tion of the “procedural steps, devices, rights and quarantine for asylum seekers is necessary to obligations that are likely to be relevant to the protect public health. Finally, the lack of infor- individual case”.97 Importantly, all of this infor- mation about quarantine creates massive con- mation must be given in a language they under- fusion and stress among asylum seekers who stand.98 are in a particularly vulnerable place when they Application first arrive on Chios, having just survived a perilous journey across the sea. b. Lack of Access to Asylum and Information about Asylum Procedures Legal Framework Under EU and Greek law, asylum seekers have a Equal Rights’ investigations show that Greek authorities failed to fulfil their requirement of providing those in quarantine information about the asylum procedure and the rights afforded to them as asylum seekers. Importantly, without phones, those in quarantine are wholly right to access the asylum procedures and infor- reliant on the Greek authorities running the mation about the procedure from as early as the quarantine for this crucial information. reception and identification procedure and even Art. 39 Law 4939/2022. See Art. 6 (1) Directive 2013/32/EU. 95 Art. 8 (1) Directive 2013/32/EU. 96 Art. 19 (1) Directive 2013/32/EU. 97 Vedsted-Hansen Commentary p. 1328. 98 Art. 8 and 12 Directive 2013/32/EU; Art. 396 Law 4939/2022; World Health Organization, Considerations for quarantine of contacts of COVID-19 cases, Interim Guidance (25 June 2021), 3, available at: https://bit.ly/40MnuMC. 93 94 ‘Quarantine of Asylum Seeker’ – A legal classification of the quarantine practice on Chios