11 II. Updates to Detention Practices in the Kos Pre-Removal Detention Centre While Kos remained a testing ground for some of the harshest immigration detention policies in Greece and the European Union, policies and practices constantly changed throughout the reporting period. This section highlights some of the most significant changes to the detention Despite the increase in asylum seekers arriving to Kos, there were only 35 and 30 individuals detained in the PRDC on 1 February 2023 and 9 December 2023 respectively, demonstrating that the number of asylum seekers detained in the PRDC decreased despite the sharp increase in arrivals. In this context, detention practices and policies shifted in response to the influx of migrants arriving to Kos during mid to late 2023. A. Pathways to Detention practices and policies that occurred on Kos In the first edition of this report, we explained from January 2023 to December 2023, focusing that there were two main practices that led to particularly on the pathways to detention and detention for asylum seekers on Kos: (1) the notable demographics of individuals in practice of automatically detaining all asylum detention. seekers upon arrival, which was introduced in Although there were a relatively low number of individuals detained in the Kos PRDC at any given time during the reporting period, this low number generally reflected the trend of the general decline in the PRDC population over the last two years that was highlighted in the first and second edition of this report. Specifically in the second edition, we highlighted that the general decline in the Kos PRDC coincided with the inauguration of the CCAC, which mimics detention conditions in many ways and now houses the majority of asylum seekers on Kos.8 While there were 1,026 asylum seekers in the CCAC and RIC at the beginning of the reporting period on 1 February 2023, the number of asylum seekers in the CCAC and RIC topped 4,000 individuals by 9 December 2023.9 January 2020, and (2) the practice of automatically detaining rejected asylum seekers with a view towards their return.10 Under the first policy, asylum seekers were immediately detained in the PRDC, both before and after formally registering their asylum applications. Although the practice of automatic detention upon arrival ended in late 2021 and the police now detain fewer rejected asylum seekers,11 the effects of these two policies continue in different forms today, with de facto and arbitrary detention still common practices. During this reporting period, there were three main pathways to detention: (a) the ongoing detention of rejected asylum seekers with no prospect of return, (b) the detention of unregistered asylum seekers charged with illegally staying on the territory, and, newly, (c) Still Detained and Forgotten, supra note 2, at 9. Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum, NP eastern Aegean 09.12.23, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2u44r6mv. 10 Detained and Forgotten, supra note 1, at 14-15. 11 Still Detained and Forgotten, supra note 2, at 8-9. 8 9 ‘Still detained and forgotten’ – Update on Detention Policies, Practices, and Conditions on Kos 2023/24