UNHCR’s analysis of first-instance decisions included a review of the police case files and found that “294 of the first instance case files reviewed did not contain the responses of the applicants to standard questions posed by interviewing police officers. Only 11 files contained two to three brief lines stating facts.”261 Asylum seekers interviewed by Human Rights Watch gave accounts of their first-instance interviews that were consistent with these findings. A 17-year-old Afghan boy said, “The police here did not ask me about my story so I didn’t tell them.”262 An 18-year old Afghan who told Human Rights Watch about a local commander who beat his father, said of his 15-minute asylum interview, “I told them about the commander, but they didn’t ask me any details or ask any questions about the commander.”263 A 33-year-old Nigerian man said, “I wanted to tell him why I came here in Greece, but he did not want to listen to the story of my life. It was not an interview. They only asked why I came here. I wanted to explain. And he only wrote, “A better life.” He asked me to sign the paper, but it was all in Greek. I signed.”264 Another Afghan, a highly educated man who speaks excellent English and insisted on an interview conducted in English still required a translator because none of the police interviewers at Petrou Ralli could speak English well enough to interview him directly. Because he was available he also spent the day of his own interview acting as an interpreter for other Afghan asylum seekers. Including time for interpretation, the interviews for which he interpreted took about 30 minutes. His own interview lasted a little over an hour. He said: They asked us questions that had nothing to do with our country. They only addressed their experiences, not according to our lower level of experience in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan you can’t do what you want, it’s not like in Greece. The interviewer did not look for explanations for Afghanistan, but acted as though the situation there was like here in Greece. He would not let me give details. He did not ask step by step what happened. I brought papers to the interview to prove my claim and I 261 UNHCR, “Implementation of the Qualification Directive,” pp. 32-33. 262 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, S-112), Athens, May 28, 2008. 263 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, S-114), Athens, May 28, 2008. 264 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-26), Athens, MAY 29, 2008. Stuck in a Revolving Door 98