the costs. The concrete walls alone will cost €28.4 million.10 The Greek government and European Commission
insist that the new MPRICs on the islands and closed camps on the mainland represent joint efforts to improve
the security and safety of residents and staff in facilities.11
DE FACTO DETENTION OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
Since the EU-Turkey Statement was agreed to in 2016, “geographical restrictions” were imposed on asylum seekers, limiting their movement to the islands and requiring them to stay in reception and identification centres
(RICs).12 These ‘geographical restrictions’ generally apply to all applicants regardless of their individual needs
or vulnerabilities, and applicants typically lack the means (e.g., legal aid) to request they be voided.13 The result,
for many years, has been severely overcrowded facilities on the Greek islands, especially in times of increased
arrivals. This, in turn, means people have to survive in undignified conditions, without adequate access to accommodation, infrastructure, security, or basic services such as medical care.14
Moreover, Greece’s new asylum law—the International Protection Act (IPA),15 which took effect on 1 January
2020—further restricts asylum seekers’ freedom of movement by increasing authorities’ discretionary power to
impose restrictions on them.16 In what can be considered de facto detention, newly arriving individuals are automatically subject to a “restriction of liberty” that bars them from leaving the RIC for the first five days, even upon
lodging an application for international protection. This period may be extended for a maximum of 25 days to
allow for the completion of reception and identification procedures. According to the IPA, detention should only
be “applied exceptionally, after an individual assessment and only as a measure of last resort.” In practice, however, authorities systematically continue the restrictions on freedom of movement without conducting individual
assessments.17
According to the European Reception Conditions Directive, an asylum applicant “may move freely within the territory of the host Member State or within an area assigned to them by that Member State.”18 However, detaining a
person solely because they are seeking asylum breaches international,19 European,20 and Greek21 law. EU officials
clearly recognize that arbitrarily restricting asylum seekers’ freedom of movement would breach EU laws. In defending the construction of MPRICs, EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson has insisted that the new structures on the
islands would not be closed. Yet, Greek authorities have consistently described them as “closed and controlled,”
10. Alexia Kalaitzi and Katy Fallon ‘Concrete walls and drones: Greek plans for refugee camps decried’ (Aljazeera, 25 May 2021) <link> accessed 24 August
2021
11. Parliamentary questions - Answer given by Ms Johansson (European Parliament, 6 July 20210) <link> accessed 24 August 2021
12. Hellenic Republic Joint Ministerial decision No. 1140/2019 (December 2019); The Hotspot approach to managing exceptional migratory flows (European
Commission) <link> accessed 24 August 2021
13. RSA, HIAS, et al ‘The Workings of the Screening Regulation Juxtaposing proposed EU rules with the Greek reception and identification procedure’
(January 2021)
14. Conditions in ‘Moria 2.0’ camp are abysmal (Oxfam International, 21 October 2020) <link> accessed 24 August 2021
15. Hellenic Republic Law No. 4636/2019 (1 November 2019)
16. Hellenic Republic Law No. 4636/2019 (1 November 2019) Article 45(2)
17. Country Report Greece - Grounds for Detention (AIDA, 10 June 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021; Amnesty International ‘Greece: Worrying legal
developments for asylum-seekers and NGOs’ (3 May 2020)
18.Reception Conditions Directive (26 June 2013) Article 7(1)
19. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) Article 31
20. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2009) Articles 6 and 52(1); Reception Conditions Directive (26 June 2013) Recital 15 and Article; Dublin III
Regulation (1990) Recital 20 and Article 28; Asylum Procedures Directive (26 June 2013) Article 26
21. Hellenic Republic Law No. 4636/2019 (1 November 2019) Article 45-46
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