6. Detention and detention centres 28 tion of their detention is not clearly defined. During our last mission, certain nationalities, such as Afghans and Pakistanis, were usually released within just a few days. Nevertheless, we have seen cases77 where the authorities could not proceed with the expulsion and people would remain in detention for the maximum period. It remains unclear, why detainees indentified to be of the same nationality stayed in detention for varying periods of time. Generally, neither the missions’ lawyers nor the detainees had any idea how long they would stay in detention. Furthermore, the purpose of the detention and the reasons for different detention practices are ambiguous. This situation creates an unsettling uncertainty for the detainees. administrative deportation order, the total detention time must not exceed 180 days.«78 In Evros prefecture, asylum seekers whose asylum claim is registered by the police while they are already in detention pending deportation, remain in detention for the maximum period of six months without any further individual assessment of their case. 6.2. Detention of asylum seekers The police authorities continue to detain asylum seekers without taking into account their asylum application, let alone assessing their individual case and vulnerability. It is indicative that in the Alexandroupolis and Orestiada directorates the police authorities do not even issue a new detention decision as prescribed by law.79 In so doing, the duration of detention may exceed the three months period, as prescribed by law. Hence the applicants stay in detention for the maximum detention period of six months/180 days. According to article 13 of the transitional Presidential Decree (PD 114/2010), which will be in force until the creation of the new screening centres (law 3907/2011), asylum seekers may be detained for a maximum of three months from the date of the registration of their asylum application. In some exceptional cases, when the police register the asylum claim immediately, they issue detention decisions based solely on the fact that they have applied for asylum, and on grounds of »the speedy and effective completion of the application«.80 Furthermore, according to Article 13 of the above mentioned Presidential Decree, »a third country national or stateless person who applies for international protection shall not be held in detention for the sole reason that he/ she entered and remains illegally in the country. […] The detention of applicants is exceptionally allowed when alternative measures cannot be applied for one of the following reasons: No further case-by-case assessment is taking place to justify why the individual’s detention will facilitate the speediness and effectiveness of the procedure. In these cases, asylum seekers usually stay in detention for three months. During our missions we met only two asylum seekers whose application claims were immediately registered and no deportation decision against them was issued. Both of them stayed for the maximum period of three months. A. The applicant does not possess or has destroyed his/her travel documents and it is necessary to determine the identity, the circumstances of entry and real information on his/her of origin, in particular in the case of mass illegal entries of applicants. B. The applicant is a danger for national security or public order, the reasons being detailed in the detention order. C. Detention is considered necessary for the speedy and effective completion of the application«. The detention shall be limited to the minimum duration required, and must in no case exceed 90 days. If the applicant has been detained earlier in view of an Neither of the asylum seekers we met during our missions were in the position to complete the asylum procedure within three or six months respectively, nor was their any guarantee for a speedy and effective completion of the application as prescribed by law. 77 Such as cases of stateless people or cases of Afghan nationals 78 Article 13, par 4, PD 114/2010 79 Article 13, PD 114/2010 80 Article 13, PD 114/2010 In many cases, the prolonged detention is applied also to vulnerable cases, such as torture victims, without considering their special medical or psychological needs, and without any reason for their further detention. The prolonged detention is also applied to asylum seekers who are Dublin II cases: