FORGOTTEN Administratively detained irregular migrants and asylum seekers Moreover according to Article 78a of Law 3386/2005 (inserted by Article 18 of Law. 4332/2015): “No return decision is issued when the principle of non-refoulement applies, as enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, ratified by Law no. 1782/1988 (A’ 116), Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Law no. 2462/1997 (A’ 25), in Articles 31 and 33 of the Status of Refugees 1951 Geneva Convention, ratified by Legislative Decree 3989/1959 (A’ 201) and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights ratified by Legislative Decree 53/1974, (A’ 256). In this case, the competent authority of Article 76 par. 2 of Law no. 3386/2005 grants a certificate of non-removal on humanitarian grounds, which entails for the holder the rights and obligations of the certificate of non- removal under Article 24 of Law 3907/2011”. ii. Findings During our visit to the Pre-removal Detention Center of Orestias, we found that the majority of detainees (except for four people) were held in order to be transferred to the First Reception Center and be subjected to first reception procedures. We observed that detention for the purpose of transfer to First Reception Centers can last from two to ten days and has absolutely no legal basis, as detention is imposed in cases of removal, while apprehended third country nationals should directly be subjected to first reception procedures. It is noted, however, that the First Reception Center is not operating in full capacity, resulting in delays in the reception of newly arrived third country nationals. Finally, we note that the aforementioned problem was identified by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) in cooperation with the Greek Council for Refugees in February 2015 Report35, but the situation has not changed until today. We hereby present some indicative cases of the above practice: - Syrian national A.M. was arrested on 20/04/2016, and the Police Department issued a detention decision on the same date ordering his detention until his transfer to the First Reception Center. 35 http://www.ecre.org/component/downloads/downloads/992.html 60