»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« 2. Evros Region: refoulement at the land border For quite some time Greek human rights lawyers have observed the secret detention by the Greek authorities of refugees who have entered Greece via its land border, without official registration of these individuals. They tend to be detained incommunicado for two days, before being illegally and forcibly expelled to Turkey. There are reports that refugees are being collected from the various border police stations and brought to the militarised zone. They are then forced to cross the river Evros to Turkish territory. In Turkey, refugees from Iraq and Iran face immediate deportation to their countries of origin. They are held for days or weeks in the Edirne Aliens Detention Centre. Ms. Z.17: Illegal expulsion and subsequent detention One of these cases is that of the Iranian Z. In conversation with her lawyer Tzeferakou Ms. Z. described her experiences as such: »It was Sunday, 18 March 2007 at around 21:00. There were between 25 and 27 of us when we crossed the river. We were on Greek soil when we were discovered by men in uniforms. They demanded that we stop and fired shots into the air. (…) We were pushed around, even my little daughter was pushed (…) nine of us were arrested, the others escaped. We were brought to the prison (…) we spent two nights there. As far as I was able, I told the Greek police officer that my husband lives in Greece. He is a refugee. I asked to be allowed to phone him. They refused me. I wasn’t allowed to call anyone, to ask anyone for help. They only asked me my name and nationality. They gave us a piece of dry bread to eat. The conditions in which we were being held were awful. My child suffers from heart problems, (…) we were at the mercy of the police. A Palestinian who was detained with us was beaten. On Tuesday 20 March 2007, at around 4:00 in the morning the police took us all and drove us away in a lorry. They didn’t even give us our luggage. I lost some important documents that way. We were brought to the river. There were about 150 refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Algeria, Iran etc. In groups of around 20 to 30 people – the police forced us to get into boats. We were brought to the other side of the Evros – to the Turkish side. A Greek man was transporting the people. He drove back and forwards. (…) My little daughter and I were pushed into the water near the Turkish bank, and the boat drove off. I was desperate. The child was ill (…) we had to walk for about three hours. Then we were arrested by the Turkish police. We were brought to prison. I was sexually harassed there, by one of the policemen. Later, we were brought the Edirne Aliens Department. The detention conditions there were awful. I was terrified of being deported to Iran. My child was ill and there was no medical care. It was very dirty and there were no sanitary facilities. The cells were overcrowded. Nearly all the women in my cell were ill. Every second or third day more people who had just been detained, arrived. The majority of them came from Greece. Most were then deported to their countries of origin. It was a hopeless situation18.« Alerted by her husband, the Medical Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims, together with the UNHCR and the Greek Ombudsman, tried to locate Ms. Z. and her daughter. They contacted all the relevant authorities, but the responsible police officials assured them that there was no mother and daughter in pre-removal detention. The responsible section in the Ministry of Public Order19 told the UNHCR and the Ombudsman, that no mother and daughter were detained in the whole of the Evros region. The next day Ms. Z. secretly got in touch from a prison in Turkey. She told her husband that early in the morning she had been expelled by the Greek authorities and was now detained in Turkey. Together UNHCR Greece and UNHCR Turkey were able to prevent her removal to Iran. Ms. Z. filed an asylum claim while in detention in Turkey, and was shortly afterwards recognised as a refugee by the UNHCR. After just under two months, mother and daughter were released from detention. After four years of separation Ms. Z. is now waiting to be able to live together with her husband. Evros Region: refoulement at the land border 17