and the constitutionality of the composition of the Appeals Committees. It had not ruled on the case by the end of the year. There was evidence that at least eight Syrian refugees were forcibly returned to Turkey. They had registered their intention to claim asylum but were returned from Kos on 20 October before they could lodge their applications. Reception conditions for refugees, asylumseekers and migrants stranded on the islands were overcrowded and insanitary; they provided inadequate security and people faced uncertainty about their future. This fuelled tension that occasionally erupted into violence, including riots in the Lesvos, Chios and Leros “hotspots”. Detention of asylum-seekers and migrants In April, thousands of people who arrived on the islands after the implementation of the EU-Turkey migration deal, were detained arbitrarily. Although the most vulnerable were soon released and the vast majority of asylum-seekers were gradually allowed to move freely in and out of the “hotspots”, a large number of people were not permitted to leave the island of arrival until their asylum applications were examined. The closure of the Balkan route In March, the closure of the Greek border with Macedonia resulted in thousands of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants left stranded on mainland Greece (see Macedonia entry). Thousands stayed in the large informal camps in Idomeni and Piraeus in dire conditions. Others found shelter in official refugee camps that were being set up across the country. Between May and July, the Greek authorities evacuated the camps of Polykastro, Idomeni and Piraeus ports. Conditions in the majority of official refugee camps around mainland Greece were inadequate for hosting individuals even for a few days. The camps, hosting around 20,000 at the end of the year, were either tented or established in abandoned warehouses and some were in remote areas far from hospitals and other services. By the Amnesty International Report 2016/17 end of the year, 23,047 relocation applicants, particularly vulnerable asylum-seekers and unaccompanied children, were provided with accommodation through a project run by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. By the end of the year, only 7,286 asylumseekers had been relocated from Greece to other European countries, while the total number of places pledged was 66,400. Access to asylum Those seeking access to asylum procedures met with serious obstacles including being unable to lodge their asylum requests through Skype or only after repeated attempts. In June, the Greek Asylum Service carried out a large scale pre-registration programme of applications for international protection in mainland Greece. In July, the authorities announced that they had preregistered 27,592 people, including 3,481 belonging to vulnerable groups. Right to education In August, Parliament adopted a legislative provision for the creation of special classes for school-age children. In October, around 580 school-age refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants began classes in the capital Athens and Thessaloniki. There were reports of xenophobic incidents including parents refusing to accept the children in schools in Oreokastro and Lesvos. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS In September, Greece was found in breach of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (in the Papavasilakis v Greece case) for failing to ensure that conscientious objectors’ interviews with the Special Board met procedural efficiency and equal representation standards. The Special Board examines requests for alternative civilian service. The same month, the Greek government rejected recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council to establish an alternative to military service which was not punitive or discriminatory and to ensure that 171