Most mainland camps are surrounded by fence e.g. RIC Malakasa or walls e.g. CTRC Ritsona and Polykastro, thus leaving no visual contact between residents and the outside world. Controlled entry and exist systems with x-ray gates and tourniquets have been set up in camps like Malakasa and Ritsona but not in Thiva or Corinth. Certain camps such as CTRC Polykastro have inside fencing between different sectors and CCTV, as is the case in camps like CCAC Samos or CCAC Kos on the islands. CTRC Thiva, Ritsona and Corinth do not have internal fences between the various sectors of the camps. These features, akin to prison infrastructure, have drawn serious concerns by the European Ombudsman and Greek Ombudsman, 23 among others. As for the surveillance and controlled entry and exit systems, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (Αρχή Προστασίας Δεδομένων Προσωπικού Χαρακτήρα, DPA) has issued a 175,000 € fine against the Ministry of Migration and Asylum for breaches of personal data protection in the design and roll-out of related programmes funded by the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund. 24 Food Food to mainland camp residents is distributed via catering service under a RIS programme implemented with AMIF 2021-2027 funding.25 Greek law provides that food provision, among other material reception conditions, is automatically terminated upon loss of “asylum seeker” status after a positive or negative asylum decision.26 According to Ministry of Migration and Asylum statistics, 5,941 of the 16,911 people residing in mainland camps at the end of last year (35%) were not entitled to reception conditions. This population includes recognised refugees, as well as refugees whose claims have been unlawfully dismissed as inadmissible on the ground that Türkiye is a “safe third country” for them and who remain in legal limbo in view of the manifest lack of prospects of readmissions to Türkiye for the past four years.27 Cases supported by RSA indicate that termination of food in mainland camps is in principle applied to adults.28 This results in almost 6,000 people in principle deprived of food. These persons have minimal possibilities to cover needs on their own, given that rejected asylum seekers stop receiving a financial allowance and have no right to employment, while recognised refugees 23 24 25 26 27 28 European Ombudsman, 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, 7 June 2023, para 48, available here, Ombudsman, The Challenge of Migratory Flows and Refugee Protection, April 2024, 41. DPA, ‘Διοικητικό πρόστιμο και εντολή για συμμόρφωση με τον ΓΚΠΔ στο ΥMΑ στο πλαίσιο αυτεπάγγελτης έρευνας της Αρχής’, 3 April 2024, available here. ΤΑΜΕΥ, Παροχή Υπηρεσιών Σίτισης Σε Δομές Της Υπηρεσίας Υποδοχής Και Ταυτοποίησης Στην Ενδοχώρα, available here and here. Article 109(1) Greek Asylum Code. RSA & PRO ASYL, The Concept of “Safe Third Country”: Legal Standards & Implementation in the Greek Asylum System, February 2024, 32-34, available here. Namely, Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Reply to parliamentary question, 156045/2023, 16 March 2023, available here. RSA REPORT │ REFUGEE CAMPS IN MAINLAND GREECE | JUN 2024 7