and fails to receive people in humane and dignified conditions’. The infrastructure problems, including interruptions in the water supply and lack of access to heating and air conditioning, aggravate the living conditions in the winter and summer respectively. Samos CCAC is surrounded by a double layer of barbed wire, camera surveillance is in operation, and entry and exit is allowed between 8 am – 8 pm. Detention of asylum seekers ❖ Statistics on detention: The total number of third-country nationals detained in Pre-removal Detention Facilities (PRDFs) during 2022 was 18,966, compared to 12,020 in 2021. At the end of 2022, there were 2,715 persons in administrative detention, including 1,344 asylum seekers. Out of the total number of detainees at the end of 2022, 2,500 were detained in pre-removal facilities and 316 in several other detention facilities countrywide such as police stations, border guard stations etc. About 28% of the detainees in pre-removal detention facilities at the end of 2022 (724 detainees out of 2,500) had been detained for over 6 months. ❖ Detention in case of non-feasible return: During 2022, applicants for international protection as well as rejected asylum seekers continued to remain systematically detained without any proper consideration of the prospect of return to Türkiye, despite returns being suspended since March 2020. A number of Court decisions acknowledged that in the absence of an actual prospect of removal, detention lacks a legal basis. ❖ Detention of applicants who have already asked for asylum though the online platform while at liberty: Applicants who have booked a registration appointment through the Ministry’s platform are in practice arrested and detained in view of removal, despite holding a document proving the existing appointment. In a number of Court decisions on cases brought before the Courts by GCR, the practice has been considered unlawful, as according to those decisions following accessing the online platform and scheduling an appointment for full registration the person acquires the status of an asylum seeker. ❖ Detention conditions: In many cases, detention conditions in pre-removal centres fail to meet adequate standards, inter alia due to their carceral and prison-like design. Police stations and other police facilities, which are by nature not suitable for detention exceeding 24 hours, continue to fall short of basic standards. No doctor was present in Tavros, Xanthi, and Kos PRDFs. Only one doctor was present in Amigdaleza, one in Corinth and one in Paranesti PRDFs, with a detention population of 866, 897 and 349 persons respectively at the end of 2022. ❖ Legal remedies against detention: No free legal aid is provided for a detainee to challenge their detention decision before Courts, contrary to national and EU law. In 2022, out of the total 18,966 detention orders issued, only 5,011 (26.4%) were challenged before a Court. Ex-officio judicial scrutiny of detention orders remains largely ineffective and illusionary. Out of the total 6,847 detention decisions transmitted to Administrative Courts for ex officio examination the extension of detention was not approved in only 21 cases. Content of international protection ❖ Renewal of residents permits: Long waiting periods are observed in a number of cases of renewal, which can reach as far as GCR is aware up to nine months. Pending the issuance of a new residence permit, beneficiaries of international protection are granted a certificate of application (βεβαίωση κατάστασης αιτήματος) valid for six months. In practice, beneficiaries of international protection holding these certificates are only protected from detention and do not have access to any rights pending their residence permit’s renewal. ❖ Family reunification: Refugees who apply for family reunification face serious obstacles which render the effective exercise of the right to family reunification impossible in practice. Lengthy procedures, administrative obstacles as regards the certification of documents, the issuance of 22