THE DUBLIN II TRAP
TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE
17
no money, no job and was homeless, he could not register his asylum claim. As of November 2009, he
continued to hold no legal documents.
On several occasions while conducting research for this report, Amnesty International delegates
observed very long lines of asylum-seekers in front of the Attica Police Headquarters. Concerns
about access to the Petrou Ralli building for asylum-seekers have been raised by a number of
other organizations, including Human Rights Watch56 and Pro Asyl.57
These problems, including long waiting times and difficulties in gaining access to the Attica
Police Headquarters building, are discussed further below.58 They present a significant
administrative barrier to accessing the asylum system, and in some cases have posed
significant dangers to the physical integrity of asylum-seekers who have to queue for many
hours outside Petrou Ralli.
In October 2008 a Pakistani asylum-seeker was killed and 15 other people were injured while they were
queuing to submit their asylum application at the Police Headquarters in Petrou Ralli. The incidents are
reported to have happened during a stampede which followed police attempts to forcibly prevent an outbreak
of disorder among a group of approximately 3,000 asylum-seekers who had assembled in front of the building.
The Police Headquarters Asylum Department had reportedly been refusing to accept new asylum applications
for the previous two months.59
In January 2009 a Bangladeshi asylum-seeker was killed in similar circumstances, when police reportedly
used force to control the crowd, after a long line of asylum-seekers had formed at the Police Headquarters.
In view of the practical difficulties for all asylum-seekers in lodging applications at the
Asylum Department in Athens, Amnesty International is concerned that the new requirement
for Dublin returnees to submit – within a short deadline – their asylum applications there may
result in significant additional obstacles to their access to the asylum system.
In addition, Amnesty International is concerned that some Dublin II returnees may not be
allowed to have their asylum application substantively determined. According to UNHCR, if
the Dublin II returned asylum-seeker had already applied for asylum in Greece and his
application had been rejected and the period to appeal had lapsed during his absence, he or
she will be served his deportation order at the airport and he will not have access to the
asylum procedure.60
Index: EUR 25/001/2010
Amnesty International March 2010
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