THE DUBLIN II TRAP TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE 21 Amnesty International’s findings are consistent with information from other NGOs working on refugee and asylum issues in Greece.71 Alexia Vassiliou, a member of the legal assistance unit of the Greek Council of Refugees (GCR),72 in her article on Dublin II transfers to Greece, noted that: “the ‘interview’ usually lasts five minutes and, in most cases, the only question asked – in English – is why the applicant came to Greece”.73 According to Greek Helsinki Monitor, asylum interviews in Petrou Ralli are “brief and superficial and do not provide a sound base for examining the particular asylum cases”.74 Amnesty International remains concerned that the failure to provide proper and thorough interviews for those who were returned to Greece before July 2009 hampered their access to an effective asylum determination procedure and impaired their chances of receiving international protection. Since July 2009, asylum interviews with Dublin II returnees applying for asylum in Greece for the first time have usually been carried out at the Asylum Department of the Attica Police Headquarters. (As noted above, Dublin II returnees now have to report to the Police Headquarters in Athens within three days of their release from the airport.) Although there are some designated asylum personnel to carry out asylum interviews at the Police Headquarters, Amnesty International remains concerned that, given the concerns about the lack of training, expertise and sufficiency of specialized personnel, asylum-seekers are not being provided with full and thorough interviews which would assist in the identification of people who require international protection. 4.5. LACK OF INTERPRETATION SERVICES ASYLUM PROCEDURES DIRECTIVE Article 10 Guarantees for applicants for asylum 1. With respect to the procedures provided for in Chapter III, Member States shall ensure that all applicants for asylum enjoy the following guarantees: (a) they shall be informed in a language which they may reasonably be supposed to understand of the procedure to be followed and of their rights and obligations during the procedure and the possible consequences of not complying with their obligations and not cooperating with the authorities. (b) they shall receive the services of an interpreter for submitting their case to the competent authorities whenever necessary … these services shall be paid for out of public funds. At the airport there was no interview and no interpreter, they only shouted to me in Greek to get out of the airport. H., asylum-seeker from Somalia returned from the UK According to Greek legal provisions on the asylum procedure, the personal interview should take place with the assistance of an interpreter.75 Index: EUR 25/001/2010 Amnesty International March 2010