having 1,170 kilometers of porous land borders and 18,400 kilometers of coastline, including islands in close proximity to Turkey, Greek police and Coast Guard authorities are zealous in their efforts to prevent irregular entry. In 2007, Greek police recorded 112,369 arrests for illegal entry or presence. However, Human Rights Watch believes this is the tip of the iceberg. Many, perhaps most, of the apprehensions in the border region are not recorded at all. Migrants being rescued by the Hellenic Coast Guard in the Aegean Sea. Photo courtesy of the Hellenic Coast Guard/Intelligence Directorate Police in the Evros region (northeastern Greece) systematically arrest migrants on Greek territory and detain them for a period of days without registering them. After rounding up a sufficient number of migrants, the police take them to the Evros River at nightfall and forcibly and secretly expel them to the Turkish side. The Turkish General Staff has reported that Greece “unlawfully deposited at our borders” nearly 12,000 third-country nationals between 2002 and 2007. Because this number only indicates those migrants who the Turkish border authorities apprehended and registered and many evade arrest, the actual number that Greece has summarily expelled is very likely to be higher. In addition to summary expulsions of migrants from inside Greek territory, Greek police and Coast Guard officials also push migrants back from the border or from Greek territorial waters, in some cases puncturing inflatable boats or otherwise disabling them 3 Human Rights Watch November 2008