The Return Directive as well as its transposition into Greek law provide that third country nationals should be held separately from prisoners who are detained under criminal provisions, detained third country nationals should have access to emergency health care and necessary medical treatment and that they should be allowed to contact their legal representatives, family members and competent consular authorities.[34] The Reception Conditions Directive as well as its transposition into Greek law additionally provides that detained asylum seekers also have access to open-air spaces and the possibility to communicate with representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and relevant non-governmental organisations.[35] The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has highlighted that the place and conditions of detention is directly linked to the lawfulness of detention.[36] To avoid being branded as arbitrary, the place and conditions of detention should be appropriate, “bearing in mind that the measure is applicable not to those who have committed criminal offences but to aliens who, often fearing for their lives, have fled from their own country”. [37] Important factors for the assessment if the place of detention is appropriate and is not in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights are, for example, the necessity of having sufficient personal space, access to outdoor exercise, natural light or air, availability of ventilation, adequacy of heating arrangements, the possibility of using the toilet in private, and compliance with basic sanitary and hygienic requirements.[38] Legal Framework for Detention of Vulnerable Persons The Return Directive states that particular attention needs to be paid to the situation of vulnerable persons who are detained in view of their removal.[39] Also should unaccompanied minors and families with minors only be detained as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.[40] Member States are also obliged to make the best interest of a child a primary consideration in the context of the detention of minors pending removal.[41] The health and mental health of detained asylum seekers who are vulnerable needs to be a primary concern of Member States. “Where vulnerable persons are detained, Member States shall ensure regular monitoring and adequate support taking into account their particular situation, including their health.”[42] In case this monitoring leads to the conclusion that the situation of the detained asylum seeker has deteriorated, and/or the detention centres lack the facilities to provide adequate support, they should be released.[43] METHODOLOGY Mobile Info Team carried out research between April and November 2022, in order to understand the practical reality of the asylum procedure whilst in detention, as well as assessing the conditions of PRDCs. We were limited by the closed systems that detention centres operate in, leading to a lack of access to the general public. As a result, we spoke to people across Greece who had been in detention at some point between 2020 and 2022. 13