The Greek National Commission for Ηuman Rights (GNCHR), following a field visit in February 2024 in Samos CCAC, noted the incompatibility of prevailing conditions with the standards foreseen by EU law. Issues identified included overcrowding, single women and single parent families with minor children sleeping on the floor in mixed accommodation with unrelated men; limited access to water and the lack of doctors in the CCAC.1039 As in previous years,1040 conditions in the CCACs have led to a number of interventions by the ECtHR. On 7 February 2024, the ECtHR granted interim measures in a case represented by the organisation I Have Rights, concerning a single mother and her infant child (the applicants) in the Samos CCAC. The applicants had been detained upon arrival to the CCAC in degrading conditions, without an assessment of their vulnerabilities. They were forced to share a bunk bed with an unrelated adult man and were humiliated by being forced to remain in the same clothes for weeks on end. They were also without access to medical treatment and relied on others to collect food on their behalf due to fears for their safety, as the line for food was hours long, with fights often breaking out. Additionally, the mental health of the woman rapidly deteriorated since arriving to the CCAC and there were concerns as to the health of the infant who had not been provided with a cot, toys, sufficient diapers or access to medical checkups. The Court ordered the Greek authorities to urgently accommodate the applicants in a safe and suitable accommodation and to ensure they are provided with adequate food, water, clothing and medical care.1041 In October 2024, in cases T.A. and Others v. Greece and M.A. and Others v. Greece, the ECtHR condemned Greece for violations of article 3 ECHR with regards to the treatment of 7 UAM in Samos. Though the cases concerned events that took place during 2019 and 2020, as noted by the organisations I Have Rights and Still I Rise,1042 who brought the cases before the ECtHR, “[u]ntil today, the situation has not substantially improved. In 2021, the closure of Samos RIC and the opening of the new, EU-funded Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC) has perpetuated new forms of human rights violations”. Indeed, in May 2025, the ECtHR granted interim measures in the case of 45 UAM who remained in conditions of de facto detention in the “safe zone” of the Samos CCAC, for periods ranging from 142 to 189 days.1043 During that time the minors did not have access to education, nor to any type of activities, while several were still sleeping on the floor at the time the measures were granted. Most of the minors had also developed skin conditions on account of their living environment, which inter alia consisted of bedbugs and cockroaches, were not provided with hygiene products and were receiving used and unwashed clothes. The ECtHR ordered the authorities to inter alia provide them with appropriate reception conditions, including adequate food and water, new and clean clothing and bed linen, cleaning and hygiene products and to ensure their speedy relocation to a shelter. 1044 Similarly, on 23 June 2025, the ECtHR granted interim measures for 13 unaccompanied children detained in the “safe zone” of the CCAC of Leros, ordering the authorities to urgently provide clothing, hygiene items, medical care, and to relocate the children to safe and appropriate accommodation. 1045 Earlier, on 12 May 2025 and 19 May 2025, the Court had issued similar interim measures concerning a total of 46 unaccompanied children residing in the “safe zone” of the Samos CCAC. 1046 Despite these interim measures, by the end of June 2025, more than 400 UAM were still residing in unsuitable conditions, also amounting to de facto detention, in the island CCACs and mainland RICs. 1047 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 GNCHR, Επιτόπια επίσκεψη ΕΕΔΑ στη Σάμο: Μη σύμφωνες με τα βασικά πρότυπα οι συνθήκες υποδοχής στην ΚΕΔ Σάμου, 9 April 2024, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/mtuuhcar. See previous AIDA reports on Greece, available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece/. I Have Rights, Degrading conditions in Samos CCAC: The European Court of Human Rights grants Interim Measures, 7 February 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yac4cmuc. I Have Rights & Still I Rise, ‘ECtHR Condemns Greece For Human Rights Violations Against Seven Anaccompanied Children’, 4 October 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/ymzmvkt7. The Press Project, ‘Νέα παρέμβαση του Ευρωπαϊκού Δικαστηρίου για τις συνθήκες διαβίωσης 45 ασυνόδευτων ανηλίκων στη Σάμο’, 20 May 2025, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/3ztktwpc. Ibid. ECtHR, Interim Measure Decision, Application no. [details confidential], Leros CCAC – 13 unaccompanied minors, 23 June 2025 (Legal representation by ΝGO Equal Rights Beyond Borders, Press Release available at: https://tinyurl.com/4hdjdffu). ECtHR, Interim Measure Decisions, Samos CCAC – 21 and 25 unaccompanied minors, 12 and 19 May 2025 respectively (Legal representation by ΝGO Human Rights Legal Project, Press Release available at: https://tinyurl.com/348m85bv). GCR, RSA & Equal Rights Beyond Borders, The need to protect unaccompanied children remains pressing, 1 July 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/zhzzmyzd. 196