Firstly, and as a rule, persons in administrative detention are not informed on the grounds of their detention and of the possibility to lodge Objections against them. Detention orders and other relevant documents are communicated to detainees in Greek and are not translated or explained in a language they understand. Moreover, even in case where detainees are actually provided with an “information brochure” in their language, said “information brochure” fails to ensure the provision of information in a simple and accessible manner. Namely, this is the same document which the European Court of Human Rights has already deemed as not capable of providing information in a simple and accessible language, so as for detainees to be reasonably expected to understand the factual and legal grounds of their detention and avail themselves of the legal remedies provided by Greek Law. 1241 Secondly, Greece has still not set up a free legal assistance scheme for review of detention orders before Administrative Courts and in practice detainees cannot effectively lodge Objections against their detention. Official statistical data corroborate that the vast majority of detainees do not have access to a remedy against detention.1242 Year Total number of detention orders issued (return/deportation and asylum procedure) Total number of Objection against detention submitted before Administrative Courts % 2025 25,497 3,878 15.% The findings by the CPT corroborate that the lack of information remains a structural and longstanding issue that has not been remedied by Greece’s amendments of immigration legislation over the past decade neither addressed through any change in practice. In its 2024 report, following the visit of the delegation in November 2023, the Committee noted the long-term nature of the issues related to information provision in the context of immigration detention: ‘As was the case in 2018 and 2020, the Committee must once again conclude that there remains an acute lack of interpretation services in all the establishments visited during the 2023 visit. Further, access to information in a language and form that detained foreign nationals understand also remains insufficient […] most detained foreign nationals stated once again that they had signed documents in the Greek language without knowing their content and without having benefitted from the assistance of a qualified interpreter. Indeed, nearly all official documents, including detention and deportation orders, were only available in the Greek language and were usually not translated for the persons concerned […] most detained foreign nationals complained that they were not sufficiently informed of their rights and their situation in a language they could understand. Many persons indicated that they had not received a copy of the information leaflet in a language that they could understand.’1243 Moreover, the CPT has highlighted concerns regarding access to legal aid in 2020 and again in 2024, including the “often theoretical and illusory” access to a lawyer and the inadequate provision of legal advice which reduced the detainee’s ability to use “objections against detention”.1244 This remains the case up until the date of writing of this report. 1241 1242 1243 1244 J.R. and other v. Greece, op.cit., paras. 123-124; O.S.A and other v. Greece, op.cit, para. 54 and Kaak and other v. Greece, op. cit. para. 123. RSA, Deportation and immigration detention statistics in Greece in 2025, 31 March 2026, available at: https://tinyurl.com/3meetrzh. CPT, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 20 November to 1 December 2023, CPT/Inf (2024) 21, 12 July 2024, paras. 32-33 and 36, available here. Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the CPT from 13 to 17 March 2020, CPT/Inf (2020) 35, 19 November 2020, para. 22; Committee for the Prevention of Torture, CPT/Inf (2024) 21, op.cit., para. 41. 249