Rights – i.e. the prohibition of inhuman and/or degrading treatment or punishment. This criticism has, however, fallen on deaf ears. One in five people in detention are held for a prolonged period in police cells that were designed to hold people for just a few hours. They are locked in 24 hours a day in unacceptable conditions. People with vulnerabilities, such as single women, children and persons with serious mental health problems, are also being detained. This is happening even though the practice of detaining children in police stations has been abolished by law due to international pressure. Children without parents or guardians are also being illegally detained. Any discussion about alternative measures to detention must begin with the acknowledgement that the deprivation of personal freedoms should always be a last resort. While migration and asylum legislation acknowledges the possibility of alternatives to detention, in practice, the Greek authorities prioritize detention. Alternatives to detention (such as reporting regularly to a police station – an option commonly used for suspects of criminal offences awaiting trial) are already enshrined in law. These alternatives are much more proportionate and do not violate the human right not to be detained without good reason. This increasing tendency to opt for detention, alongside the building of five new European Union (EU)-funded ‘closed and controlled’ Multipurpose Reception and Identification Centres, is not in line with EU and Greek law. Major legislative and policy changes are needed to bring Greece back in line with the rule of law. These include: • Ending prolonged detention in police stations. • Ending detention for those people who do not have a real and immediate possibility of return. • Avoiding the generalization of detention demonstrated by the construction of ‘closed and controlled’ centres. • Ensuring detention on the grounds of public order and national security is not used to penalize asylum seeking. • Ensuring that children are not detained. • Mandating a short time limit for detention. • Establishing a legislative provision for a judicial decision as a necessary condition for detention. • Ensuring an individual assessment by the authorities of the risk of absconding. • Ensuring the provision of effective legal aid for people in detention. 4