January-13 February 2023, exit from the facilities (includes RICs and the totality of accommodation centres for third-country nationals) is only allowed between 7am-9pm, only for representatives of families or groups, and only in order ‘to meet essential needs in the nearest urban centres’.778 As noted by FRA in November 2020: ‘Greece never lifted all the restrictions on refugee camps and reception facilities adopted at the outset of the pandemic. These included restricting residents’ movement within the limits of the camps and banning or restricting visitors, which affected the provision of social services’.779 More than 35 Joint Ministerial Decisions, inter alia imposing and/or renewing or amending restrictions in the RICs and camps were issued in 2022 780. Additionally, full lockdowns were imposed on several occasions on the island RICs namely the RIC of Lesvos, between 2-15 September 2020, the RIC of Leros between 15 September-12 October 2020, the RIC of Samos, between 15 September-25 October 2020, and the RIC of Chios, between 13-25 August, and again between 14 October and 11 November 2020, based on relevant Ministerial Decisions. 781 No relevant data has been provided for 2021 at the time of writing. Beyond the hotspots, each island had an additional, though limited, number of facilities, inter alia operating under the ESTIA II accommodation scheme or NGOs for the temporary accommodation of vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied children. Albeit, following the Ministry of Migration and Asylum decisions to shut down dignified accommodation alternatives, namely PIKPA Lesvos and PIKPA Leros in November 2020, as well as the municipal Kara Tepe camp in Lesvos in April 2021, 782 PIKPA Lesvos, and the announced plan to terminate the ESTIA accommodation scheme on the islands by November 2021 783, these have gradually given way to the new Closed-Controlled island facilities in 2021784, as the exclusive form of first-line reception starting 2021. The first such Centre was inaugurated in Samos in September 2021, in an isolated area in the region of Zervou, and already within two months of its operation the facility’s resemblance to a prison, with residents being subject to disproportionate and severe measures of control and movement restrictions tantamount to de facto detention measures for some, was evident.785 As noted by Médecins sans frontières (MsF) in September 2021, the new facility “is a dystopian nightmare that contributes to [refugees’] isolation and their further re-traumatisation”.786 Three months following the facility’s inauguration, in December 2021, the Court of Syros confirmed the unlawful character of the 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 Annex II, JMD Δ1α/ΓΠ.οικ. 17567, Gov. Gazette 1454/B/25-03-2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3NxeOmL, as replaced at the time of writing with JMD Δ1α/ΓΠ.οικ. 5432/2023. FRA, Coronavirus pandemic in the EU – fundamental rights implications: focus on social rights, Bulletin 6, November 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3eUZDEC, 31. All relevant JMDs can be found in this site: https://bit.ly/3qd6lho. Summary of information provided by the RIS on 11 February 2021. ECRE, ‘Greece: Well-run PIKPA Camp Evicted while Situation on Islands and Mainland Continue to Deteriorate’, 6 November 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3hwbbQo; MoMA, ‘Termination of the temporary hosting site of PIKPA Leros’ (‘Τερματισμός λειτουργίας προσωρινής δομής φιλοξενίας ΠΙΚΠΑ Λέρου’), 27 November 2020, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/2SSrMnb; Oxfam & GCR, ‘Closure of model camp on Greek islands amidst horrific living conditions is cause for concern’, 21 April 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/33Ns54W. As per the Ministry’s call for proposals for the ESTIA scheme for 2021, no new applications for the (a) Regional Unit of Lesvos, (b) Regional Units of Evros, Rodopi and Xanthi, (c) Regional Unit of Chios, (d) Regional Unit of Samos, (e) the Municipality of Leros and (f) the Municipality of Kos will be accepted under the programme. Furthermore, the remaining aprtaments operating under the scheme in Lesvos and Chios are eligible for renewed funding only up to 30 November 2021, after which they will cease to operate. MoMA, Call for proposals for the ESTIA 2021 programme with the title ‘ESTIA 2021’: Accommodation scheme for international protection applicants, 30 November 2020, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3fm9ZfW, 11, 13. Amongst others, see AMNA, ‘The RIC of Kara Tepe was closed – N. Mitarakis: an important step in the national effort to decongest the islands’ (‘Έκλεισε το ΚΥΤ του Καρά Τεπέ - Ν. Μηταράκης: Σημαντικό βήμα στην εθνική προσπάθεια αποσυμφόρησης των νησιών’), 7 May 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3eTMM5s, and astraparis, ‘An end to ‘ESTIA’ on Chios and Lesvos, all refugees in closed centers’ (‘Τέλος το «Εστία» σε Χίο και Λέσβο, όλοι οι πρόσφυγες στα κλειστά κέντρα’), 30 November 2020, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3yePnyG. GCR, ‘The new Closed Controlled Facility in Samos: An isolated ‘modern prison’?’, November 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/38d1Z0N. efsyn, ‘Medecins sans Frontieres: the new facility in Samos is a dystopian nightmare’, 18 September 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3iPSWEW. 166