Greece: Surveillance technologies & "prison-like" conditions violate migrants' rights at refugee camp, finds report; incl. cos. responses & non-responses
In January 2025, NGOs I Have Rights and the Border Violence Monitoring Network published a report exploring human rights abuse at the refugee camp ‘Samos Closed Control and Access Centre’ in Greece.
The report says the centre is “heavily policed” by the Hellenic Police, border force, and private security firm G4S, and “resembles a prison”. High securitization at the facilities has raised concerns regarding the impact on asylum seekers’ psychological, physical and social health. Upon arrival, migrants’ phones are removed without explanation, and workers are subjected to “de facto detention, lack of privacy, intrusive surveillance, isolation and lack of access to essential services”.
People seeking safety on our island are not criminals. The EU and Greek authorities promised that the CCAC would be a model, humane facility. Yet reports both from people on the move and workers attest to the inhumanity of the structure and its panoptic surveillance architecture.Ella Dodd, Advocacy and Strategy Coordinator, I Have Rights
The report says the centre is equipped with four IT systems: Centaur, Hyperion, Rea and Alkioni. It explores the adverse human rights impacts of Centaur and Hyperion. The former deploys motion analysis algorithms and transmits CCTV and drone footage; the latter monitors movement through biometric data.
The report alleges Centaur has been violating asylum seekers’ right to privacy, including surveilling asylum seekers without informed consent. It says technology companies Adaptit, ESA Security, Space Hellas, ViiSights and Octopus are “involved in” the Centaur system. The report also highlights privacy concerns regarding the collection of biometric data through the Hyperion system. Migrants report not being informed why their fingerprints were taken.
Further reporting by The Breach says says Centaur surveillance technologies supplied by ViiSights and Octopus have first been used on Palestinians before being repurposed for refugee camps in Europe. The Breach also reports venture capital fund Awz Ventures owns a two-thirds stake in Octopus and funds ViiSights.
In March, we invited Adaptit, ESA Security, Space Hellas, ViiSights, Octopus and Awz Ventures to respond to the report and article, and to disclose any steps Awz Ventures has taken to investigate and remedy impacted detainees for the abuses reported. We also invited G4S to respond to the report and article. G4S, Adaptit, ESA Security and Space Hellas’s responses can be read in full below. ViiSights, Octopus and Awz Ventures did not respond.