some cases, made the detention per se unlawful. Seven clients had not been given a valid detention order at the time of submission, and in two clients’ most recent detention orders were based on the wrong law. In those two cases, the applicants were detained under the IPA, the asylum law, even though they had final rejections and were therefore subject to the return law. bb. Reasons for Detention Each of the nine participants interviewed on the subject reported that they did not receive verbal or written information in a language they could understand, prior to or during their detention, on the reasons for their detention. In some cases, participants reported receiving papers which they could not read. Zain informed us that when he was first detained on another island, he was asked to sign some documents in English, which he does not understand. Describing his transfer from that island to Kos, he told us: “I was not given any information. Here, I have not really been given any information, since I came here. In the first three months, I tried to talk to them about the situation and no one gave me any information”. Zain, Joud and Faiza all mentioned receiving some documents at some stage during their experience of detention – Joud before he was detained, and Zain and Faiza while they were in detention – but that they were written in Greek, which they cannot read or understand. Similarly, Boubacar told us that he received some papers when he arrived in detention, but that they were written in a language he could not understand. Some participants also reported being provided information that they later learned was inaccurate or incomplete. When Haround was arrested at Kos airport, he was informed that he would spend two weeks in quarantine and then be transferred to the ‘open camp’, or RIC. However, he was in quarantine for approximately 22 to 23 days, before being transferred to the PRDC. Meanwhile, Louis and Faiza both told us that when they arrived in detention, they were informed by authorities that they would be detained for 25 days, although they were ultimately detained for far longer. While there are legal grounds for extending asylum seekers’ detention beyond the initially delineated period, we found that participants were not informed of such grounds, and often did not understand the reasons for their detention. Due to this widespread lack of information regarding the reasons for their detention, some participants reported attempting to independently seek information about their circumstances. Joud told us: “…I tried to look myself by the internet and I found out whoever comes illegally to the island got detained…”. Meanwhile, Zain told us that although he tried to ask the asylum service about the reasons for his detention, he was not told anything, and was asked to approach the police. When he approached the police, however, he was told: “they said we’re not really arresting you, we don’t want you to escape, that’s it, and we’re helping you by staying here”. In contrast, when Haroun approached the captain of the PRDC for information, he was told he was in detention because he ‘illegally’ entered Greece, and because Turkey was a safe country for him. Similarly, when Faiza asked the asylum service about the reasons for her detention, she was told that she was detained as she came to Greece “illegally” and did not have any valid status in the country – despite being in the asylum procedure, which bestows temporary legal status on applicants. Still, others did not feel that they could approach authorities for information. Jeanne told us: “We haven’t asked, we haven’t had the possibility”. Information therefore remains limited, even where it is requested. Just as the lack of information provided about the asylum procedure – discussed above – has led inaccurate information to circulate among asylum seekers in the PRDC, the lack of information regarding immigration detention has led to similar challenges. The word-of-mouth circulation of information among detained asylum seekers themselves is frequently inaccurate. Florence told us that she learned, from speaking to other women in detention, that she may receive voluntary return papers after 6 months of being detained. However, we have observed through our practice on the island that voluntary return papers are issued somewhat 29 DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS