No right to asylum and living in appalling conditions: GCR visit to Pre-departure Detention Center in Amygdaleza for those recently arrived in Gavdos from Libya

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

The Greek Council for Refugees visited the Pre-Departure Detention Center (PROKEKA) in Amygdaleza on Thursday, July 25, where third-country nationals who arrived in Gavdos from Libya in recent days have been transferred and are being held.

There are a total of 144 adults, including 60 Sudanese citizens, 63 Egyptian citizens, 14 Yemeni citizens, 7 Eritrean citizens, and 26 unaccompanied minors. According to our information, the unaccompanied children will be transferred immediately to accommodation facilities. Approximately 70 more newly arrived adults have been transferred to the Pre-Departure Detention Centers in Drama and Xanthi.

According to statements by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, these individuals, who arrived in Gavdos on July 18, 2025, will not have access to the asylum procedure pursuant to the amendment of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum on the suspension of asylum (Article 79 of Law 5218/2025, Government Gazette Issue 125/A/14.07.2025).

Among other things, it is noted that:

On the day of our visit, no information had been provided by the competent authorities regarding the procedures followed/to be followed, nor had they been informed of the reasons for their detention.

No document or decision had been served on them.

They are being held in totally inadequate conditions.

As has been repeatedly pointed out, pre-departure detention centers (PROKEKA) "do not provide a suitable environment for the detention of foreigners for long periods of time" and "The facilities are not suitable for the detention of foreign nationals," see CPT/Inf (2024) 21 – Part, https://rm.coe.int/1680b0e4e3

Among other things, the following were reported to us:

Poor maintenance of containers or containers that are completely unsuitable due to damage, toilets without running water, containers without electricity, resulting in the inability to use air conditioning during extreme heat. At PROKEKA Amygdaleza, the entire facility consists of containers placed in a courtyard with white gravel, which is divided into wings with high fences, without any shade or trees, resulting in extreme temperatures during heat waves.
There was not enough clothing and underwear to distribute to them, with the result that they do not even have a second pair of underwear/shirt, etc., and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to keep themselves clean.
A significant number of them had not even been given shoes/sandals, forcing them to walk barefoot on hot ground, a condition that demonstrates the inability to meet the basic needs of the detainees.
The quantity of food is limited and inadequate. Access to drinking water is either from the taps in the bathrooms or from an external hose located in the courtyard. Bottled or cold water is not provided.
There were reports of limited or no access to a doctor and/or other services.
Their access to the outside world was extremely limited or impossible. They had no access to the internet due to technical problems, and many of the detainees, as reported, had not had their mobile phone chargers returned, making it impossible for them to use their phones. The lack of communication exacerbates feelings of anxiety and distress.

On the day of our visit, we submitted to the PROKEKA officer on duty statements of intent to apply for asylum on behalf of Sudanese detainees, so that the competent Asylum Service could be officially informed. In the following days, we received the following response: "we have been informed that your clients are not entitled to apply for asylum."

We would like to point out that, among others, the Ombudsman, , the Greek National Commission for Human Rights,, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Association of Administrative Judgesthe Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe as well as 109 human rights organizations, including the GCR, have emphasized that the recent amendment, which suspends access to asylum for three months, is not in line with international refugee law, international human rights law, and EU law, which are binding on Greece, without providing for any derogation from their application.