• On many occasions, they stated that the officers involved in their apprehension, detention or push-back operation, would make phone calls seemingly informing someone about them. case reported to PRO ASYL, a Syrian refugee was allegedly seriously bitten by a police dog upon apprehension, yet he didn’t receive medical treatment and was pushed back to Turkey. 121 • Refugees described officers involved in these operations, as ones wearing blue uniforms, military green and dark green uniforms. Allegedly, persons in plainclothes and others wearing full face masks were also involved in some cases. In one instance a person in uniform with the insignia of Germany (German flag), witnessed the push back of two persons by Greek police in day light. ‘They pushed us towards the boat. Again the ‘German’ punched me and pushed me in the boat. (…) One of the men in the boat pulled us inside and pushed us on the floor kicking us. My friend like me has worked as a translator for the ISAF Forces in Afghanistan. He was telling them again and again not to deport us. They beat him more. When we arrived on the other side of the river, they beat each of us twice with the wooden stick on our backs and our legs. They said: ‘Go! Hide somewhere until night and go!’ 122 ��The police officers were wearing blue uniforms. The ones we see in the streets here in Athens.’ 117 ‘There were 5-6 officers when they brought us back to the river. Their uniforms were of green colour (military green). It was obvious they were border police. Two of them had wooden batons in their hands. The officers that had caught us had been dressed in blue uniforms. They looked like the town police.’ 118 ‘When we got off the van we saw some people wearing full face masks.’ 119 ‘ The two officers who arrested us (Greek officers in blue uniform, ed.), and another one who was driving the second car brought us to the river. They took us to one officer with a motorbike, dressed in military uniform. He checked me with his eyes from up to down and asked ‘Hazara?’ I noticed on his uniform the German flag, black red and gold, while he was body searching me. (…) The ‘German’ was standing next to the river. When we arrived next to him, I implored him not to send us back to Turkey, we both fell on our knees. He punched me and my friend once in the face.’ 120 • Upon apprehension, detention or push-back, almost all interviewees alleged that they were ill-treated by the officers. They said they had been slapped, beaten with batons, punched and kicked on their body, on their head and on their face. In one 117 | N.N. (32 years old), from Eritrea / pushed back from Evros in June 2013; Interviewed in Athens (Greece), August 16, 2013 118 | G.H. (with his wife and 4 children 3, 8, 11 and 14 years old) from Afghanistan / pushed back from Evros in July 2013; Interviewed in Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece), September 17, 2013 119 | M.A. (24 years old), from Eritrea / pushed back from Evros in May 2013; Interviewed in Athens (Greece), August 19, 2013 120 | G.A.N., from Afghanistan / pushed back once from Evros in June 2013 and twice from Lesvos in end July 2013 / beginning of August; Interviewed in Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece), September 23, 2013 32 | pUSH-bACK oPERATIONS ‘The police took off all of our clothes, even my wife’s and my child’s. My child is 12 years old. A police woman hit my wife in the head. She searched all our belongings and my wife’s Quran.’ 123 Due to this degrading and inhuman treatment, the couple concerned expressed their strong fear of ever entering Greece again. During the interview they were still suffering and in pain. • Many interviewees were allegedly intimidated and threatened. Some reported that when detained in a place like a kennel, officers unleashed their dogs towards them and just seconds before they attacked, they called them back.124 ‘When they put us in the boat, one of the police officers told us in English that if we come back again to their country, they would send us back again. He took out his gun and pointed it to us. We heard the noise of the gun as he loaded it threatening us that if we would come back they would shoot us. We will beat you. We will torture you.’ 125 ‘The police had big dogs, which they unleashed against us, to scare us and they would then call them back, only seconds before reaching us and biting us. They had fun with us.’ 126 121 | H., from Syria / pushed back from Evros in 2013; Interviewed in Chania (Crete island, Greece), July 2, 2013 122 | G.A.N., from Afghanistan / pushed back once from Evros in June 2013 and twice from Lesvos in end July 2013 / beginning of August; Interviewed in Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece), September 23, 2013 123 | K. (with his wife and one child), from Syria / pushed back 7.7.13 from Evros; Telephone interview, July 28, 2013 124 | M.S. (mother); M.H.S. (husband); A.R.S. (underage son), from Afghanistan / Pushed back three times / once from Evros in September 2012 and twice from Lesvos island in February 2013 and in April 2013; Interviewed in Athens (Greece), June 14, 2013. They are together with three other minor sons and a 6 months old baby girl with serious health problems. 125 | M. (16 years old), from Afghanistan / pushed back from Evros in August 2012; Interviewed in Mytilene (Lesvos island, Greece), December 20, 2012 pUSH-bACK oPERATIONS | 33