randomly with no guarantee of receipt. Meanwhile, Zain described feeling a sense of resignation due to the inaccurate information that he was given by others. He told us: “I already knew when I was coming [to Kos]…that they can detain me, nearly a year and a half. Everyone already heard about it, everyone was telling each other that…I knew it, [it’s] information among everyone… Once they mentioned Kos island I knew I’d be here for a year and a half”. However, not all asylum seekers are detained for this long. This misinformation – stemming from a lack of proper information channels with authorities or access to legal services – thus creates a sense of resignation among detained persons. Lastly, we have found that detainees’ lack of information regarding their detention often persists after their release. Florence told us that when she was released following a successful legal challenge to her detention, she was provided documents that she did not understand. She stated: “The document I signed that the police gave was in Greek. I asked what it was. They said you can take a copy. I don’t know what I signed”. Ismail was not certain as to the reasons for his detention, telling us: “…I have no idea why we are inside detention. Even now, I don’t really know why. The only thing that I think is the reason I didn’t have any documents, but I don’t really know”. Meanwhile, Louis claimed he understood the reasons for his detention better upon his release due to the papers he was provided at that time, although they were written in French, which he can only partially understand. When asked, he explained that the document:“it said the reason we were in the camp was because we came to the country without papers”. We have thus found that detainees’ lack of information regarding their detention causes distress, confusion, and disillusionment with respect to the Greek authorities. On a practical level, it prevents them from effectively challenging their detention. b. Right to an Effective Remedy The primary legal remedy against detention in the PRDC is referred to as “objection against detention.” This remedy must be lodged in front of an administrative court and cannot be submitted electronically. Further, the judge’s decision cannot be challenged by a higher instance court, meaning that there is no remedy against a negative decision.186 Objections must be filed in person. However, there is no competent administrative court on Kos to review objections to detention. The nearest competent court is on the island of Rhodes, approximately 2-3 hours from Kos by ferry. Practically speaking, people detained in the PRDC cannot submit objections without the assistance of a lawyer, and even lawyers on Kos must either coordinate with lawyers on Rhodes to submit the objections or travel there themselves. Moreover, in our experience, the vast majority of people detained in the PRDC are not aware that a remedy against detention exists at all. Even if people are aware that there is some legal action they can take against their detention, the authorities do not provide people with any information on what remedies exist and how to file them, such as information about where the administrative court is, what requirements objections must meet, if any deadlines exist, or the free legal aid scheme that is available to anyone in detention in Greece.187 Equal Rights has submitted four objections against detention since opening in January 2021. Three were for single women, two of whom were survivors of SGBV, and the fourth was for a single parent family with three minor children between the ages of 8 and 13. The first two objections were accepted and the second two were rejected. The court accepted the first objections on the grounds that the client had a final rejection to her asylum application despite there being no reasonable prospect of her return to Turkey. Although the 186 HIAS, Locked up Without Rights (December 2019), 17, available at: https://bit.ly/3kLZDZe. 187 Art 46 (7) L. 4636/2019 states that if the detention order or any extension thereto is contested, the applicants concerned shall be offered free legal assistance, under the procedure proscribed in the provisions of Law 3226/2004 (A’ 24), which apply mutatis mutandis. 30 DETENTION OF MIGRANTS ON THE ISLAND OF KOS

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents