Α. In the beginning of 2015 a JMD180 provided for the establishment of 7 Pre-removal (Detention) Centres: Amygdaleza and Tavros (Petrou Ralli Str.) in Athens, Corinth, Fylakio-Evros, Xanthi, Paranesti-Drama, Moria-Lesvos. The same decision set out the regulations for their operation. These facilities, which were already in operation in the previous year, as Identification Centers (centers for which there was no relevant legislative authorisation in Law 3907/2011) in 2015 were designated as special facilities for the detention of third-country nationals to be returned or deported, with reference to the specifications of Article 31 of Law 3907/2011 on the conditions of detention, according to Article 16 of the Return Directive 2008/115/EC. B. The national elections of 25.1.2015 were followed by governmental announcements (17.2.2015) and internal instructions of the Hellenic Police on decreasing the detention time in practice, so that the third-country nationals to be returned are not held as a rule for more than 6 months and the vulnerable groups are not detained at all. The change in policy regarding the time of the detention of third-country nationals caused a radical reduction in the number of detainees. In November 2015, the Hellenic Police informed the Ombudsman that on 3.11.2015, a total of 504 persons were being detained at the Pre-removal Centres, a number overwhelmingly lower (1/8) than the 4,123 detainees in 2014. This huge reduction in the number of detainees in November 2015 compared to the previous year may be attributed to the government’s policy that emerged from the elections of January 2015, for detention not exceeding six months as a rule, to the generalisation of the suspension of removal of Syrian citizens and later other nationalities181 and, in par180 JMD 8038/23/22-ιγ/2015 (Government Gazette Β 118/21-1-2015). 181 Regarding the true fact of the impossibility of the return of the Iraqis to the country of their origin, the Ombudsman asked the Hellenic Police to issue a circular that covers the suspension of their removal, mutatis mutandis to that for the Syrian citizens (document 197333/8563/3-3-2015). The same recommendation was repeated by the Ombudsman in many cases (199117, 201627, 204275/2015) until at last the issue was resolved in November 2015 with a relevant circular decree of the Hellenic Police (ref. No. 1604/15/2189144/30-11-2015) for the inclusion of the Iraqis under the non-refoulement status of the new Article 78A of Law 3386/2005. The decree issued by the Hellenic Police takes into consideration the inclusion of the Iraqi asylum seekers in the relocation program to another Member State of the European Union. The new regulation, which was instituted with Article 18 of Law 4332/2015, is also a very positive development, in response of the Ministry of Interior to the UNHCR and to the Greek Ombudsman, because it stipulates that no deportation decision is issued as of now when the conditions of the non-refoulement principle apply, but a non-removal certificate for humanitarian reasons is granted. A Hellenic Police circular (1604/15/1423412/10.8.2015) ticular, to the policy of non-detention of new mass arrivals from the sea borders, mainly from June 2015 onwards, who were crossing the borders towards North-eastern Europe on the so-called West Balkan Route. 2016 and how things stand today A major change in administrative detention was caused in 2016 by the closing of the borders on the Western Balkans Route and by the EU-Turkey Statement on 18.3.2016, directly resulting in the stay of the new arrivals at the island hotspots, under detention or restriction, the purpose being readmission into Turkey. Since the end of 2015, a differentiation in the detention policy was also observed in police station cells of the islands of the Northeastern Aegean for specific nationalities among the thirdcountry nationals waiting for return (e.g. in the Ombudsman’s inspection in Chios on 26.1.2016, citizens of Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia were found detained). This differentiation gives rise to legitimate questions about discriminatory treatment based on ethnic characteristics. The Ombudsman noted that, in cases of expression of intention for lodging an asylum application, considering detainees for return collectively as irregular migrants depending on their nationality does not coincide with the obligation for the individual assessment of each application for international protection. The Ombudsman had a good cooperation to this end with the Pre-removal Center of Corinth, in the case of the statement of intention for lodging asylum applications by Pakistani citizens who claimed that they belong to the Ahmadiya religious minority (case No. 214862/2016). In 2016, nationality differentiated detention was practised in Pre-removal Centers on the mainland (concerning at a percentage of 60% citizens of Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia at the Pre-removal Center of Corinth in December 2016), whereas the wording prima facie economic migrants182 was introduced into the public dialogue to differentiate by nationality certain asylum seekers who could be transferred from the islands to Pre-removal Centers of clarified that this certificate also covers newly incoming citizens of Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Palestine, Eritrea, Somalia. The matter however remains that the nonremoval certificate for humanitarian reasons is no longer granted to the new arrivals of these ethnic categories to the islands, after the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 (see Hellenic Police circular of 18.6.2016 at http://www.synigoros.gr/ resources/docs/egkyklios-elas-ths-18-6-2016.pdf). 182 “Whereas before we had 80% refugees, we now have 70-80% prima facie migrants”, Statement by the Greek Alternate Minister for Migration Policy in Parliament, 30.9.2016 (Minutes pg. 16381). http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/ UserFiles/a08fc2dd-61a9-4a83-b09a-09f4c564609d/es20160930.pdf. 59