A/HRC/45/16/Add.1 80. Some of the vulnerable persons were detained in practice, however, and the Working Group was informed of cases in which individuals did not undergo proper identification of vulnerability and an individualized assessment prior to the issuance of a detention order. There were also delays after the time of arrival in conducting the vulnerability assessments, owing to understaffing and a lack of medical and psychosocial experts. 81. Under Law No. 4636/2019, individuals identified as belonging to a vulnerable group, as specified in the amended provision, are now subject to highly accelerated asylum procedures and their geographical restriction on the islands is not lifted before this is completed. The authorities are urged to ensure the prompt examination of applications from vulnerable individuals in practice. 5. Opportunity to challenge detention and removal decision 82. The authorities have pointed out that the right of foreign citizens to challenge detention in case of expulsion is provided for in article 76 of Law No. 3386/2005, a right that may be exercised at any time during detention. 83. Asylum applications are submitted to the Asylum Service in the first instance. If the application is rejected, the applicant may appeal the decision in the second instance before an independent appeals committee. An appeal must be lodged within five days, during border procedures. Legal aid is provided on appeal only and, if a person did not have his or her own lawyer during the initial first-instance hearing and given that the Asylum Service lawyers are unable to meet all demands, it is practically impossible to find a lawyer within the prescribed time in order to prepare for the appeal. Under article 92 (1) (c) of Law No. 4636/2019, the deadline for applications examined through the border procedures is 10 days after the notification of the first-instance decision. 84. The Working Group urges the Government to expand the availability of publiclyfunded legal aid so that persons seeking international protection have access to legal advice at all stages of the process, from the moment of filing their application until a final determination is made. 85. Before the entry into force of Law No. 4636/2019, asylum seekers could lodge an application for annulment of the second-instance decision before the administrative court of appeal within 60 days of notification of the decision. However, the effectiveness of that legal remedy was undermined by a number of obstacles, including the fact that only a lawyer could file the application. Inadequate legal aid is provided for challenging a secondinstance negative decision on an asylum application, and the capacity of NGOs to file this application is very limited given the number of persons in need of international protection. In addition, the application for annulment would not automatically suspend deportation, and there was no guarantee that the applicant would not be removed during lengthy delays in the court hearing the matter. 86. According to article 104 (4) of Law No. 4636/2019, any negative decision must not lead directly or indirectly to refoulement. The independent appeals committee examines the conditions for non-refoulement as specified in article 3 of the Convention against Torture, article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and articles 31 and 33 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In such a case, the independent appeals committee provides the individual with an attestation for non-removal on humanitarian grounds. 6. Pushbacks at the border between Greece and Turkey 87. The Working Group was informed that a number of persons newly arrived in the Evros region had been arrested, detained and summarily returned across the land border between Greece and Turkey without being given the opportunity to apply for international protection in Greece. In some cases, it was alleged that individuals had made previous attempts to cross the border, but had been forcibly removed to Turkey in each case. Pushback practices are not permitted under Greek law and are contrary to the right to seek asylum. The Working Group is therefore of the view that detention for this purpose has no legal basis. The Working Group urges the Government to promptly and fully investigate all 14