I. CONTEXT FOR THIS REPORT Immigration detention has been an integral part of Greece’s approach to migration for the past several decades, both on the Eastern Aegean Islands and in mainland Greece. Today, several so-called pre-removal detention centres exist across Greece, including the Amygdaleza centre in Athens, the Fylakio centre near Thrace, and the Kos pre-removal detention centre (PRDC) near the village of Pyli.18 Although some reporting exists about detention practices in Greece – particularly on the former use of protective custody to detain unaccompanied minors – there are very few comprehensive studies about detention in Greece.19 This report aims to fill that gap by providing an in depth look at one of Greece’s detention facilities: the Kos PRDC. The report first offers a background on immigration detention in both Europe and Greece and then moves on to analyse the specific way in which immigration detention plays out on Kos. By situating the practices on Kos within the broader historical context of immigration detention in Europe, this report sheds light on the fact that—despite the island’s geographical isolation—these practices are connected to, rather than isolated from, broader policies that seek to prevent asylum seekers from reaching Europe’s shores. A. Background on Immigration detention in Europe From the 1990s onwards, European Union (EU) legislative, administrative and political frameworks for reception, detention and deportation have rapidly developed.20 As early as 2001, the European Commission published a Communication on a common policy on illegal immigration,21 pointing out the importance of a common return policy. However, it took seven years of negotiations among the EU Member States (MS) for the Council to finally approve all of the amendments contained in the European Commission’s opinion. The resulting document was the EU Returns Directive 2008/115/EC (RD), which was adopted in 2008 and entered into force in January 2009. The RD, which has not been amended since it entered into force, provides for the detention of third-country nationals with the aim of facilitating their removal22 within specialised detention facilities.23 The Returns Directive further allows for the detention of unaccompanied minors and families with minors as a measure of last resort, and on a short-term basis.24 In 2003, the former version of the Reception Conditions Directive (RCD) was adopted, which regulates the reception condition standards for asylum seekers. However, unlike the RD, the initial RCD did not provide clear regulations on the detention of asylum seekers and did not enumerate permissible detention grounds.25 18 AIDA, Place of Detention, available at: https://bit.ly/2ZhsCgF [last updated: 10 June 2021]. 19 Human Rights Watch has published extensive reporting on the detention of unaccompanied minors in Greece, as far back as 2008. See e.g., Detention of Unaccompanied Children in Greece (23 June 2020), available at: https://bit.ly/2XMfrUm, Human Rights Watch, ‘Why are you Keeping me Here?’ Unaccompanied Children Detained in Greece (8 September 2016), available at: https://bit.ly/3nxePed, Human Rights Watch, Left to Survive: Systemic Failure to Protect Unaccompanied Minor Children in Greece (22 December 2008), available at: https://bit.ly/3EhEs9C. 20 Lydi Arbogast, Migrant Detention in the European Union: a Thriving Business, Migreurop ( July 2016), 11, available at: https://bit. ly/3khGSfW. See also, Open Access Now, The Hidden Face of Immigration Detention Camps in Europe, 9, available at: https://bit. ly/3mSmTYf. 21 Commission Communication, COM(2001) 672, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a Common Policy on Illegal Immigration, available at: https://bit.ly/3zzYoT4. 22 Art. 15 Directive 2008/115/EC. 23 Art. 16 Directive 2008/115/EC. 24 Art. 17 Directive 2008/115/EC. 25 See in the drafting history of the Reception Conditions Directive Peek/Tsourdis in Hailbronner/Thym EU Immigration and Asylum Law, Part D.V. para 108 et. seq., p.1441. 1 DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS