INTRODUCTION Immigration Detention in Greece Since the implementation of the Schengen Area in 1995 establishing freedom of internal movement and the removal of border controls, European Union (EU) Member States have adopted extensive measures to strengthen the external borders of the bloc. The continued lack of harmonisation of the Common European Asylum System has further enabled Member States to implement their own laws and practices to navigate and prevent the arrivals of people at their borders, diverging considerably from protection mandates or upholding of fundamental rights. In accordance with these policies, the use of immigration detention has proliferated to the extent that it has become normalised and institutionalised, particularly in external Member States,3 despite European law stating that it should only be used as a measure of last resort.4 In Greece, the detention of applicants of international protection and third country nationals subject to return orders followed this trend, although particularly increased following the influx of arrivals since 2015. In addition, the election of Nea Demokratia in 2019 saw the rapid implementation of restrictive policies against people on the move, with specific consequences for irregular arrivals regardless of their expression of willingness to claim asylum. Despite the use of immigration detention remaining an exceptional measure in European law,5 it became embedded in practice in Greece following the implementation of the International Protection Act in 2020 and a succession of amendments that followed, expanding the grounds for detaining people on the move for increased periods of time. Procedural safeguards were also removed from Greek asylum law,6 enabling the systematic and arbitrary detention of individuals on the grounds of public order or being considered a ‘suspect for escape’.7 The additional and highly concerning amendment to Greek return law in 20208 overturned the principle of detention for third country nationals in view of removal as one of exception, into the norm. Despite the extensive documentation9 of informal expulsions from Greece via pushbacks mechanisms, the ongoing lack of EU Readmission Agreements, Greek Bilateral Agreements and general dysfunctional cooperation between Greece and either countries of origin or alleged ‘safe third countries’ restricts the possibility and efficiency of returns. This raises strong doubts regarding the proportionality and reasonable prospect of removal, and thus legal justification of detention.10 Nevertheless, people on the move may be held in Pre-removal Detention Centres (PRDCs) for periods extending beyond 18 months, as codified in national law.11 In their 2021 report, the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) acknowledged that the use of detention to control people on the move has become default in Greece; as of July 2021 3,000 people were in immigration detention, nearly 50% of which had been for more than six months.12 Irrespective of the fact that Minister of Migration and Asylum, Mitarachi, announced that “Greece is no longer experiencing a migration crisis” after arrival flows in Greece showed to have decreased with 60% in the first seven months of 2021 as compared to 2020,13 increasingly hostile migration policies and violence against people on the move has intensified. In 2022, the number of recorded arrivals has risen again, yet people are met with closed, prison-like structures and restrictive asylum procedures. Despite the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)14 carrying out several visits to PRDCs and police stations in Greece since 2005, noting the severely inadequate conditions of facilities and significant reports of violence,15 few substantial changes have been made. This is frequently recognised by the CPT in their reports, indicating that their recommendations have, on the whole, been ignored. In addition, aside from country visits being sporadic, they are officially planned, and may not provide insight into issues such as violence, which can be kept relatively invisible. In general, detention centres are extremely restricted to the public, and only specific actors, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organisation for Migration, the GCR and other legal organisations are granted 6