L.4825/2021124 replaced Article 8 (4) L.4375/2016125 as follows: ‘The Regional Services of the Reception and Identification Services are: a. the Reception and Identification Centres (RIC), b. the Controlled Structures for Temporary Accommodation of asylum seekers and c. the Closed Controlled Access Centres, which are structured and have the responsibilities of RIC and within which, in separate spaces, facilities of temporary accommodation and the special detention facilities provided in Art. 31 of L. 3907/2011 operate. Within the premises of the above-mentioned facilities, special areas dedicated to people belonging to vulnerable groups as per article 14(8)are provided’126 Although the Rule of Procedure of Closed Controlled Access Centres on the islands does not provide for a blanket prohibition of exit, the regime of de facto detention has been reintroduced in practice for certain categories of residents in the ‘Closed Controlled Access Centres of Islands (CCACI.)’ of Samos, namely for those who do not hold an asylum seeker card.127 Persons who do not have a card include: ❖ new arrivals after the registration of their asylum application and pending the issuance of a card; ❖ persons whose applications have been rejected at second instance who did not lodge or are unable to lodge a subsequent asylum application; ❖ those who have filed a subsequent application until a decision on admissibility is issued; and ❖ those whose applications have been rejected at first instance, until they can lodge an appeal. By way of illustration, in the ‘Closed Controlled Access Centres of Islands (CCACI.)’ of Samos the number of people banned from exiting the camp was approximately 100 out of the 450 residents by December 2021.128 This prohibition took effect without any written decision ordering the restriction in the CCAC, and without information on or notification to the persons concerned on the grounds of the restriction. In support of an applicant who had filed a subsequent application which was pending and thus whose exit was prohibited, GCR lodged “objections” against this de facto detention before the Administrative Court of First Instance of Syros. Taking into account its character as a de facto detention measure and thus acknowledging its jurisdiction to assess this “exit ban”, the Court held that: ‘a. the detention of asylum seekers is […] only allowed on the basis of a decision issued by the competent Police Director, as an exceptional measure and only for one of the grounds exhaustively prescribed by Article 46 of said Law, [yet] no decision with such content has been issued […]” and said preconditions had not been met, b. “the Head of the […] CCAC illegally took the measure in question (exit ban) against the applicant’.129 124 125 126 127 128 129 Article 28 L.4825/2021 on ‘Reform of deportation and return procedures of third country nationals, attraction of investors and digital nomads, issues of residence permits and procedures for granting international protection, provisions of competence of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum’. According to Article 8(4) L. 4375/2016 ‘The Regional Services of the Reception and identification Service shall be: a. The Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) b. Mobile Reception and Identification Units (MRIU) c. The Open Temporary Reception Structures for third-country nationals or stateless persons who have applied for international protection, d. The Open Temporary Accommodation Structures for third-country nationals or stateless persons: who are under a return procedure in accordance with article 22 of law 3907/2011, or with paragraph 3 of this article in conjunction with article 30 of law 3907/2011 or whose removal has been postponed in accordance with Article 24 of law 3907/2011 or who fall under the provisions of article 76 para. 5 or article 78 or article 78a of law 3386/2005’. Article 30(4) L. 4686/2020 amended article 8(4) L.4375/2016 and foresaw the establishment of the so called ‘Closed Temporary Reception Facilities’ for asylum seekers against whom a detention decision has been issued and the ‘Islands’ Closed Controlled Facilities’, for asylum seekers, persons under a removal procedure and persons under geographical limitation. The provision does not specify further information, such as the general operation of such centres, the reasons for placing third country nationals in such facilities, the possibility of and procedures for entry and exit, general conditions, the maximum period of stay etc and up today such centres have not yet been established. Article 8(4) L. 4375/2016 as amended by article 30(4) L. 4686/2020 was applied until the entry into force of L. 4852/2021 in 4th September 2021. as amended by Article 62 L.4939/2022. Joint Ministerial Decision 25.0/118832 - Gov. Gazette 1454/Β/25-3-2022 ΦΕΚ Β 3191/20.7.2021. Amnesty International, Greece: Asylum seekers being illegally detained in new EU-funded camp, 2 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3v4NLH6. Administrative Court of Syros, Decision No ΑΡ 36 /17-12-2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3KroeOI; GCR, The Administrative Court of Syros ruled unlawful the measure of prohibiting the exit of an Afghan asylum seeker 42