6.7 Detention Nine of the 15 interviewed stateless persons were subject to a decision on administrative expulsion during their stay in the Czech Republic, most of them repeatedly. A sentence of expulsion was imposed by criminal courts on five interviewed persons in the past. In three cases, the only reason for imposing the expulsion sentence was that they had not complied with an earlier decision on administrative expulsion. Two persons were sentenced on this ground repeatedly, three and five times respectively. For not complying with the earlier expulsion decisions, both persons were eventually sentenced to imprisonment for 10 months and one year, respectively. Seven interviewed persons were subjected to detention for the purpose of enforcing the decision on administrative expulsion. Their detention usually lasted for the maximum statutory period of 180 days. In addition, four persons were detained in criminal custody during the authorities’ attempts to carry out the imposed expulsion sentence. In three cases, the custody lasted one year while the fourth person spent 10 months in custody. None of these deprivations of liberty led to expulsion. The experience with deprivation of liberty was traumatic for the interviewed persons, especially because of the context of hopelessness of their stay in detention. Statelessness is the determining factor in this respect. « « The last step was when they had detained me in Bálková [note: the facility for the detention of foreign nationals]. I was detained there and I told myself that this is the last step, that they had to realize that they cannot put me anywhere, send me anywhere else. (…) And then I realised they knew what was going on, but never wanna do anything about it.” (…) I never expected that it could happen. But you know (…) This situation is a very sensitive one (…) I am very disappointed. I think about my family and … It is what it is. I cannot talk about it anymore.” The situation can be illustrated by the example of one of the interviewed stateless persons who has been living in the Czech Republic for over 20 years. After his application for international protection was rejected in the late 1990s, he stayed in the country irregularly, which necessarily resulted in his apprehension and detention. While detained, efforts were made to obtain a travel document from his country of origin but without any success. He learned that due to a change in legislation in his country of origin, he had ceased to be its national. He experienced several years of being detained in facilities for the detention of foreign nationals, expulsion custody or serving a prison sentence for frustrating the expulsion decisions. He stated that altogether he had been deprived of liberty for 7 years and 3 months. He did not recall how many times he was apprehended. « Seven years in custody altogether, I don’t know how many times. Two times in 2012, in 2013 and again three months in 2014 in expulsion custody, six months in Prague west. And again, six months, three months, I was in the expulsion custody.” Repeated release from detention followed by arrests undermined the overall feeling of well-being and security. This stateless person lives in constant fear of being detained again. Indeed, from time to time, the scenario has repeated itself. Following a regular check by the police, he was arrested on the ground of an irregular stay and, while being subject to another decision on administrative expulsion, he was detained in a facility for the detention of foreigners. However, the decision on administrative expulsion could not be carried out as he could not be issued with a substitute travel document. He was then released and the situation may well repeat itself. The accounts of all stateless persons described in the interviews shared certain similarities in this respect. It began with a loss of legal residence combined with an inability to leave the country within the time stipulated by the exit order. This was followed by an intervention by the authorities and their decision on administrative expulsion. At 44 Faces of Statelessness in the Czech Republic