Time elapsed between arrival in Greece and date of asylum registration appointment at Malakasa RIC for 124 applicants: (C) Inaccessibility of the online platform 69% of respondents who used the online platform to book an appointment at a RIC reported issues accessing or using the platform.⁵⁴ Concerningly, 23% respondents said they paid a private lawyer to apply via the online platform for them, with one respondent sharing that their lawyer charged 100 euro to book an appointment. Others were assisted by NGOs and peers, who were often the primary source of information regarding how to apply for asylum. One respondent was unable to book an appointment due to the shutdown of the GAS computer system between May and August 2023 and at the time of the interview (July 2023) had still not managed to book an appointment. The wide-reaching impact of the platform shutdown was documented in June 2023 by numerous CSOs whose clients faced similar issues during this time.⁵⁵ Overall, reported issues with the online platform amounted to overwhelming evidence of significant restrictions on the right to apply for asylum, in contravention of extensive EU case law.⁵⁶ In September 2023 the Council of Europe expressed concerns regarding the operation of the online platform and requested clarifications from the Greek government regarding access to asylum on the mainland.⁵⁷ Similar issues have been raised by the Greek Ombudsman, which assessed in May 2023 that the exclusive submission of a request for an appointment through the platform constitutes an “additional administrative-technical restriction” which greatly hinders access to asylum on the mainland.⁵⁸ Most people interviewed for this research were men (84%) with an average age of 30, a demographic which is considered to be more digitally literate, generally with greater access to the internet and confidence navigating technology.⁵⁹ Nonetheless, 69% of respondents who successfully booked an appointment at a RIC reported that they could not have done this without assistance. They specifically described difficulties relating to technical issues with the online platform, including frequent crashing of the system and unavailability of appointments. Technology-related barriers were also identified by Greek lawyers as a key issue faced by their clients, especially for applicants with additional support needs. As highlighted in reports by Equal Legal Aid and MIT,⁶⁰ the digitalisation of the Greek asylum system has created additional barriers for people who are not digitally literate, or face issues relating to the cost of data and reliance on mobile phone technology for complex actions such as uploading documents. 22