34 have given detained persons incorrect legal detained persons with individualised orders information regarding their detention and and information on their detention. More legal procedure. For example, Marwan specifically, the report found that most people explained that, interviewed had never received a copy of their “I got no information about detention. Only one time I asked a doctor about it, and the doctor explained that I had to be detained for six months detention order or had its contents translated to them.80 Additionally, the report concluded that the police issued template detention because I was in a border area,” an assertion that orders that were often riddled with procedural has no legal basis. errors.81 As explained previously, police also threaten The trends observed in the first edition of this detained persons with the prolongation of report remained the same during the period their detention orders under no legal basis. covered by this update. A lack of interpretation A trend not highlighted in the November 2021 report but that was relatively common in participants’ testimonies this year was police’s dismissiveness of detained persons’ requests for information regarding legal services. Four participants noted that the police were unhelpful when asked if they had information regarding legal services. Naeem explained, in the PRDC remained a persistent problem throughout the reporting period, with only a Sorani interpreter available for most of the time. As of 01 January 2023 there were no interpreters in the PRDC at all. All of the participants stated that they were not given information regarding the reasons for their detention. In some cases, participants stated that although they received a copy of their “When arriving to detention, I asked for a lawyer, detention order, they didn’t understand the but the police said they didn’t know any,” while contents of it because it was issued in Greek Kenan shared, “I got no help from the police.” and the police did not provide interpretation. If Jalal also said that when he asked for a lawyer, participants received any information about “They told me to speak to the commander, but I never found him. No explanation was provided to me, and I signed documents without any legal help. I don’t know what I signed.” their detention at all, it generally concerned the length of it and not the reasons. Equal Rights also observed that clients during this reporting period often did not have copies of their detention order and were unaware that Accessing legal services, which is already a they were in administrative, rather than difficult feat for detained persons on Kos, is criminal, detention. thus made more difficult by police dismissing detained persons’ requests for legal help. Additionally, Equal Rights analysed 10 detention orders issued to rejected asylum 2. Detention Orders and Reasons for Detention seekers between May 2022 and November The November 2021 edition of this report 9/10 of the orders contained identical highlighted the police’s failure to provide reasoning—namely, that the person was a risk 80 Detained and Forgotten, supra note 3, at 28-30. 2022. Through that analysis we found that 81 Detained and Forgotten, supra note 3, at 28-30. ‘Still detained and forgotten’ – Update on Detention Policies, Practices, and Conditions on Kos 2022/23