THE DUBLIN II TRAP TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE 25 family decided to go back to Iraq voluntarily after less than a month in Greece. The reasons why the family had sought asylum were that the father had allegedly been threatened and injured because he had served as a witness in a criminal case in Iraq, while his two sons had been shot and injured when their house was broken into. The father was also suffering from psychological and physical problems that were diagnosed by doctors in the Netherlands. Amnesty International is concerned that asylum-seekers returned to Greece under Dublin II – who have neither the means to rent accommodation nor family members or friends who can host them and provide relevant documentation, or who are not given any of the limited accommodation places provided by the state (see below under Reception Conditions) – will face significant obstacles in accessing the asylum application procedure, and will be at risk of not obtaining legal documentation. This can result in a risk of arrest, ill-treatment, detention or expulsion, including refoulement (see below under Expulsions and the principle of non-refoulement). 4.7. LIMITED ACCESS TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE Article 15 Right to legal assistance and representation Member States shall allow applicants for asylum the opportunity, at their own cost, to consult in an effective manner a legal adviser or other counsellor, admitted or permitted as such under national law, on matters relating to their asylum applications. In the event of a negative decision by a determining authority, Member States shall ensure that free legal assistance and/or representation be granted on request. Asylum-seekers in Greece do not enjoy sufficient free legal aid. The number of lawyers providing free legal assistance is very small in comparison to the huge number of asylumseekers. NGOs, teams and lawyers acting on a voluntary basis do provide free legal assistance. They usually focus on the most serious and urgent cases. Mariana Tzeferakou, lawyer Amnesty International believes that as part of a fair asylum procedure, asylum-seekers must be provided with access to free legal assistance, to UNHCR and to appropriate NGOs, and must be made aware of these rights. The Greek asylum procedure falls short of these standards and cannot be considered fair or effective at the present time. According to Greek law, registered asylum-seekers have the right to be advised at their own expense by a legal or other counsellor.87 In reality, asylum-seekers rarely have the financial resources to pay for legal counsel. Index: EUR 25/001/2010 Amnesty International March 2010