Since early April, our client, an asylum seeker from Syria, had been detained on public order grounds, despite the absence of a criminal indictment or any conviction. He faced only misdemeanour charges and the competent public prosecutor had already ordered his release—clearly considering that he does not pose a threat to public order.
Equal Rights Beyond Borders challenged his detention before the Rhodes Administrative Court of First Instance, arguing that it was unlawful. We emphasised that the detention of asylum seekers can only be imposed under specific, restrictive conditions provided for by law. In this case, those conditions were clearly not met: there was no evidence of a genuine or serious threat to public order, nor was there any individualised assessment of his alleged dangerousness. Instead, the detention decision relied on vague, formulaic reasoning without factual basis.
We further argued that the applicant should be transferred to the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) of Kos—a facility where he has the legal right to reside as an asylum seeker—and allowed to continue his asylum procedure in freedom.
The Court agreed. On 10 July 2025, it held that:
- Detention is anexceptional measure and must only be applied where strictly necessary and legally justified.
- The criminal accusations faced by the asylum seeker were not grave enough to justify detention, particularly given the lack of indictment or conviction.
- The authorities failed to show compelling reasons related to public order or security.
The Court ordered the release of our client and his transfer to the Kos CCAC, where he is to reside while his asylum application is processed. It further ordered that he present himself to the police every 10 days.
This decision marks a rare and important success in our fight against unlawful migration detention on Kos. Not only was our client, an asylum seeker, released from detention that had been imposed on the basis of alleged public order concerns, but the Court also refrained from imposing the extremely harsh alternative measures we have seen in the past. In particular, the Rhodes Administrative Court has previously required multiple weekly check-ins at the police station (e.g., every 2 to 3 days). This is extremely burdensome, especially given that the CCAC—where most migrants released from the PRDC reside—is over 15 km away from the Kos Police Station.
As an organisation, we have long advocated that migration detention is overused, often without proper legal basis. In most cases, neither the detention itself nor the alternative measures imposed by courts meet the necessary legal standards.
This decision represents real progress: an asylum seeker unjustly detained is now free, and the Court has issued less strict alternative measures than usual.
We will continue our legal and advocacy work until no migrant is unlawfully detained and no alternative measures are imposed where not legally warranted.
For more on the inhumane conditions at the Kos PRDC, see our April 2024 report:
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Contact: press@equal-rights.org