city where people attracted to the same sex gather? "No, it is forbidden in Iraq; if they find any homosexual, they kill them." (See interview transcript, p. 17). Do you know other homosexual people in your country? "[the applicant gives a name] if you search that name on the internet, you’ll find him. He was homosexual, and they killed him." Did you personally know [name]? "Yes. ”"How did you know him? "Through social media." “Have you ever met other homosexual people in your country, aside from those already mentioned? ”No." (See interview transcript, p. 18). When asked about the legislation in his country regarding homosexuality, the applicant could not provide any information, even though it directly impacts his life. The applicant vaguely stated: "I have forgotten; you can search on Google." (See interview transcript, p. 19). When asked to describe the incident during which his relationship with his partner became known on the night of June 20, 2024, his account was brief and appeared to lack the perspective of someone with genuine personal experiences. The applicant vaguely stated: "As I told you before, I had been intimate with my boyfriend. Suddenly, his brother opened the door and called his father. I dressed quickly and jumped out the window. His father started shooting at my feet to make me fall, but I managed to escape. I then took a taxi and went home." (See interview transcript, p. 19). Τhe above reasoning of the first instance negative decision is indicative of the problematic, judgmental and non-sensitive approach and credibility assessment of the Asylum Service with regard to LGBTQI persons and GBV survivors. This decision was annulled by the Appeals Authority and the applicant was granted refugee status. Moreover, in 2024 and 2025 a significant number of asylum applicants continued to report that, during their interview, they were not granted sufficient time and, as a result, their asylum claims were not examined thoroughly. The duration of an interview can be easily verified in the interview transcript, which mentions the time of intitiation as well as time of conclusion of an interview. An additional issue relates to the fact that the caseworkers do not follow a standard procedure on the examination of allegations of pushbacks when such allegations arise during the asylum interview. Particularly, the RAOs had no consistent practice regarding any further examination of allegations of pushbacks that arise during the asylum interview. The caseworkers had discretion as to whether to devote time during the interview and ask further questions regarding the reported “pushback” incident by the asylum applicant. According to lawyers, in certain cases the caseworkers disregard these allegations, claiming that they are not relevant to the interview, while other caseworkers proceed to further investigate the incidents by asking focused questions. Furthermore, it is still unclear how the EUAA caseworkers deal with information about criminal acts and violations of EU and international law allegedly committed by other actors at the EU’s external borders that are brought to their attention during the asylum interview. The new EUAA Complaints Mechanism as regards complaints against EUAA personnel has been recently established under the responsibility of the newly appointed EUAA Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO).603 However, complaints can only be submitted by persons directly affected (or their representatives) by the actions of asylum support team members, when they consider that their fundamental rights have been violated due to an EUAA expert’s actions. 604 This is stipulated in the EUAA Regulation in such wording and the scope for the Complaints Mechanism can therefore not be broadened to include other instances of violations. For any other violations of fundamental rights not committed by members in Asylum Support Teams (ASTs), the EUAA is working in parallel on developing an escalation mechanism which would allow for an appropriate escalation process for situations when Agency staff becomes aware of any 603 604 See: https://euaa.europa.eu/complaints-mechanism. Ibid. 133