In addition, during 2025, the ECtHR has repeatedly granted Interim Measures (Rule 39 of the Rules of the Court) for dozens of cases of UASC, who remained for prolonged periods in de facto detention and under significantly substandard and dangerous conditions in the “safe area” of different CCACs.1202 Detention following wrong age assessment On 22 August 2025, Joint Ministerial Decision 147627/2025 (Gov. Gazette 4581/Β/22-8-2025) entered into force, introducing several problematic changes in the age assessment procedure that risk undermining the protection of unaccompanied children, including vis-à-vis protection against detention, as highlighted in a Joint CSO letter to the Ministries of Migration and Asylum and of Health.1203 The new JMD mandates that all stages of the age-assessment process, including X-rays, be carried out cumulatively and on the same day, while giving primacy to radiological findings for the assessment of a person’s age in case of conflicting results.1204 This is in contrast to the obligation to apply the least intrusive methods first, and to international standards supporting holistic, multidisciplinary assessments rather than an automatic reliance on X-rays. Furthermore, the JMD curtails the deadline for appeals against wrongful age assessment from 15 to 5 days,1205 and introduces an automatic, even if contestable, presumption of adulthood for anyone who refuses to be subjected to intrusive medical examinations.1206 It also restricts the presumption of minority solely to persons initially registered as minors,1207 leaving minors mistakenly registered as adults without appointed guardians and vulnerable to being detained with unrelated adults.1208 4. Duration of detention Indicators: Duration of Detention 1. What is the maximum detention period set in the law (incl. extensions): ❖ Asylum detention: 24 months ❖ Pre-removal detention: 24 months ❖ “Protective custody”: None 2. In practice, how long in average are asylum seekers detained? Depending on the circumstances As mentioned above, L. 5226/2025, adopted by the Parliament in September 2025, increased the maximum detention time limits of those under removal procedure up to 24 months, contrary to the EU Return Directive and successively the maximum detention time limits of asylum seekers procedure up to 24 months. Thus following the amendment introduced by L. 5226/2025 the total detention period of a third country national within the migration context may reach 48 months (24 months while in the asylum procedure + 24 months in view of removal). Delays in the asylum procedure resulting in prolonged detention 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 See in details GCR & the AIRE Center, COMMUNICATION In accordance with Rule 9.2 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers regarding the supervision of the execution of judgments and of terms of friendly settlements by the Advice on Individual Rights in Europe (The AIRE Centre) and the Greek Council for Refugees Concerning the supervision of the cases O.R. v. Greece and related cases, https://tinyurl.com/bdd5u284. SCI & GCR, Children on the move in Greece: September-December 2025, 18 December 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3vxxk75t. Article 4 JMD 147627/2025. Article 9 JMD 147627/2025. Article 4 JMD 147627/2025. Article 11 JMD 147627/2025. For more, SCI & GCR, Children on the move in Greece: September-December 2025, 18 December 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3vxxk75t. 242