assessment procedure in the first place because RIS had failed to inform them.
3. Conclusions
The practices on Kos towards members of vulnerable groups raise serious questions about whether they are
in line with EU law, Greek law, and human rights law. First, the policy of automatically detaining all asylum
seekers upon arrival and then automatically extending their detention upon a second rejection excludes the
possibility that authorities are conducting an individualised assessment that accounts for their vulnerabilities
and the ways in which their needs could be met in detention. Since Equal Rights started working on Kos
in January 2021, we have not been aware of a single detention order for asylum seekers or rejected asylum
seekers where authorities conducted a proportionality assessment, weighing the need for detention on the
one hand and the individual’s vulnerabilities on the other hand. The lack of such individualized assessments
is contrary to Article 30 (1) Law 3907/2011, Article 15 (1), 16 (3), 17 RD and Article 8 (2), Article 11,
Article 21 et. seq. and Recital 15 RCD, Article 58 (2), Article 46 (1) IPA. Similarly, the ECtHR requires state
authorities to consider potential vulnerabilities when issuing detention orders and to prevent inhuman and
degrading treatment.143 For example, there is no doctor on site for people with serious medical issues and the
psychologist does not have an interpreter. This automatic application of detention renders detention orders of
individuals with specific vulnerabilities disproportionate and hence unlawful.
Second, the historical practice of detaining minor children in the PRDC quite clearly violates EU, Greek, and
human rights law. In the cases we represented where minors were detained, their detention orders did not
take into account alternative less-restrictive measures, whether the PRDC was a suitable accommodation, or
the children’s best interest, all of which are required by the law for both asylum seekers and rejected asylum
seekers.144 Further, the PRDC is in no way equipped to house minors – there are no play areas, educational
programs, or specialised medical/psycho-social staff (see more in Section 2). These conditions not only violate
EU law and Greek law but are similar to the conditions that led the ECtHR to find violations in both Popov
and Rahimi145.
F. Formal Legal Pre-Conditions: Procedural Guarantees and the
Right to an Effective Remedy
Having analysed the legal grounds for detention in Greece, this section documents what procedures the
authorities must follow when detaining migrants and asylum seekers. In particular, this section looks
at detained persons’ experiences accessing legal services, the asylum procedure, information about their
detention, and remedies against detention. We have found that detained persons lack access to reliable,
accurate information regarding the reasons for their detention and the asylum procedure. We have observed
that this lack of information undermines detained asylum seekers’ ability to legally challenge their detention
and to understand and engage with the asylum procedure.
1. Formal Legal Preconditions
a. Access to Asylum and Information about Asylum Procedures
Under Greek law, asylum seekers have a right to access the asylum procedures and information about the
procedure from as early as the reception and identification procedure and even before they’ve filed formal
143 Thimothawes v. Belgium, § 73; Rahimi v. Greece, § 108, Neshkov and Others v. Bulgaria, § 227 with further references.
144 See e.g., Art. 11 (2) Directive 2013/33/EU, Art. 17 Directive 2008/115/EC.
145 Cf. footnotes above.
21
DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS
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