about the red card given to him when he was released from detention on Rhodos Island, and had no idea that he was an asylum seeker: The police asked me where I came from, my name, how I came here and what country I was from…The questions lasted two or three minutes. There was no interpreter. Some of my friends understood some English. They gave us the red card. It is for Greece to identify us and now we can work with this card. They will renew it several times and give you a green card.233 Legal Representation The law does not provide for legal representation for asylum seekers, though it does not exclude legal representation for those who can afford a lawyer or find one willing to work pro bono.234 The problem is the paucity of lawyers in Greece who are willing to represent asylum seekers. An Athens-based lawyer described the Evros region as a legal “black hole” because of the virtual absence of asylum lawyers or nonprofit legal service providers.235 Despite being the entry point for all land arrivals from Turkey and the region to which people arrested in Patras are transported and detained, there are no NGOs that serve the migrant population there and no lawyers providing pro bono services to asylum seekers. Where there are lawyers—in Athens and on some of the islands—they are completely swamped by the sheer numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in need of legal assistance. A lawyer who used to work for the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) told Human Rights Watch, “I started my career as an asylum lawyer. It was not feasible to follow even the serious cases. The NGOs are overwhelmed with duties. Lawyers are dealing with detention, security decisions, judicial representation. They can’t keep up with everything.”236 233 Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, S-101), May 29, 2008. 234 The law enacted in July 2008 to bring Greece into conformity with EU asylum procedures, Presidential Decree90/2008, provides for free legal assistance at the cassation (appeals/review before the Council of State/Supreme Court) if a judge finds that the appeal is not inadmissible or unfounded. Presidential Decree90/2008, Article 11.2. 235 Human Rights Watch interview with Marianna Tzeferakou, Ecumenical Refugee Program, Athens, June 2, 2008. 236 Human Rights Watch interview with attorney who preferred to be anonymous, Athens, June 5, 2008. 93 Human Rights Watch November 2008