Mission Report following the LIBE Mission to Greece hotspots and Athens, 22 – 25 May 2017, European Parliament [website], 30 June 2017, p.17, <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/136120/missionreport-greece.pdf>, last accessed 26 March 2018. 52 In December 2017, GCR conducted a field mission at the Pre-Removal Center in Kos, consisting of 5 staff (lawyers and interpreters). 53 At the time of our visit (December 10, 2017), the case was seemingly the same with the 2 families that were detained in the facility. 54 As we were informed, interpretation would take place either through interpreters based at the nearby Kos RIC or via detainees themselves. Information acquired through interview with police representative at the Pre-Removal Center at Pyli, Kos, on 10 January 2018. In either case, this service was clearly insufficient, as it relied either on the ever scarce availability of RIC interpreters –who during our visit to the RIC (10-12 December 2017) could literally not catch their breath– or on the randomness of detainees’ knowledge of Greek. 55 A frequently-encountered practice in prison facilities, where surrounding one’s bed with blankets inter alia provides a rudimentary sentiment of privacy. 56 Interview with police representatives at the Pre-Removal Center at Fylakio, Evros, on 22 December 2017. 57 It seems doubtful that the facility’s officers would leave the gates open, if detainees where provided access to fresh air, as the latter’s potential of “escaping”, under such circumstances, is a risk that can have severe repercussions against the former. 58 Interview with police representatives at the Pre-Removal Center at Fylakio, Evros, on 22 December 2017. 59 European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, A European Agenda on Migration, 13 May 2015, COM(2015) 240 final, p.6, <https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/communication_on_the_european_agenda_on_migration_en.pdf>, last accessed 29 March 2018. 60 The term is borrowed from a Guardian article written by Alexander Betts. See A., Betts, ‘Human migration will be a defining issue of this century. How best to cope?’, The Guardian International edition, 20 September 2015, <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/20/migrants-refugeesasylum-seekers-21st-century-trend>, last accessed 27 March 2018. 61 Greek Council for Refugees, op.cit. p. 22; European Commission, Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament The European Council And The Council: Third Report on the Progress made in the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement, 28 September 2017, <https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/news_corner/migration/com_2016_634_f1_other_act_863309.pdf>, last accessed 27 March 2018. 62 As per UNHCR data, by the end of May 2016, some 8,456 persons remained on the islands subject to the post-Statement new status quo. On the other hand, from 56,723, in 2015, arrivals on the Greek islands diminished to 173,450, in 2016, and 29,718, in 2017. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, ‘UNHCR Greece Factsheet January-May 2016’, UNHCR [website], 6 June 2016, p.2, <http://donors.unhcr.gr/en/unhcr-greece-factsheet-january-may-2016/>, last accessed 20 March 2018 and https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean/location/5179. 63 Greek Council for Refugees, ‘Country Report: Greece’, asylum information database (aida) [website], March 2017 update, p.100, <http://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece>, last accessed 30 March 2018. 64 See Human Rights Watch (HRW), ‘World Report 2018 - European Union’, refworld [website], 18 January 2018, <http://www.refworld.org/docid/5a61ee75a.html>, last accessed 28 March 2018. 65 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Aegean Islands Factsheet, May 2017, p.3, <https://refugeeobservatory.aegean.gr/sites/default/files/Aegean%20Islands%20Factsheet%20May%202017.pdf>, last accessed 28 March 2018. 66 Albeit there have been cases where the initial 25-day detention was extended due to administrative delays in providing applicants with legal documentation (e.g. police notes) 67 Indeed, throughout our visits to Kos and Lesvos, and considering the number of asylum seekers stranded at each RIC, their presence in the islands’ inhabited areas was barely observable. 68 Amnesty International, Δηλωση Γαβριηλ Σακελλαριδη Μετά την Επισκεψη σ�� Καταυλισμους στη Χιο και Λεσβο [Statement of Gabriel Sakellaridis following visit to camps in Chios and Lesvos] [press 23