b) from the Greek islands, c) from Farmakonisi military island after being detained incommunicado, d) after a distress alert is launched from their boats, or e) in the Evros area at the land border directly after their arrival on Greek territory via the Evros River, either in the forest where they are trying to hide, or while walking in the streets of the first village they reach. • In three reported push-back incidents from Farmakonisi – an island uninhabited, apart from a military unit – involving dozens of refugees from Syria, interviewees claimed to have been apprehended by Greek coastguards either just off the coast of the island, or after their arrival on the island. The refugees say that they were detained incommunicado and deprived of any rights for periods ranging from 16 hours to three days, before being pushed back and left adrift in Turkish waters. • According to the interviewees’ eyewitness accounts, it can be estimated that over 2.000 persons were pushed back, given the make-up of the groups they travelled with.1 • The interviewees alleged that their personal belongings (mobile phones, money, etc.) were taken away. • The vast majority of those affected, according to our research, are Syrian refugees trying to enter Europe to seek international protection and to reunite with their families who live in various European countries. • In many cases, either on coast guard boats, islands or in informal detention places in Evros, refugees were arbitrarily detained for some hours, without being officially registered, without access to the outside world and without any food or water. In all cases, push-back victims were not officially registered by the competent authorities, nor were they asked for any personal details, apart from their nationality. • All of the interviewees stressed that they were not heard by the Greek authorities and that they were not afforded an opportunity to request international protection or to challenge their illegal removal. • Many Syrian refugees alleged that their documents were also taken away. Without proper ID cards and passports, it is quite impossible for them to now benefit from potential humanitarian admission programs, or a more generous family reunification program granted by some European states. • During push-back operations in the Aegean Sea, some refugees claim to have dialed the emergency number, and sent out distress signals from their boats, only to be pushed back when they were located by the Greek authorities. • Refugees reported being forced, and even threatened with guns, to return to Turkish waters. • Once pushed back to Turkey, refugees reported being arrested and eventually detained • In the majority of cases, the pushed back refugees claim to have been left in lifethreatening situations upon being pushed back in the Aegean, when left adrift in unseaworthy boats or being thrown into the water of the river Evros. by the Turkish authorities. In three cases – two in Evros and one in the Aegean – pushed back Afghan refugees were deported back to their countries of origin (chain refoulement). • In the Aegean, in almost all cases, the officers involved in the push-back operations • During their stay in Turkey, refugees were confronted with an ineffective refugee pro- wore “black uniforms, carried guns and wore full face-covering masks”. In other cases, officers were “wearing blue uniforms”. In Evros they were described either as wearing blue, military green or dark green uniforms, accompanied by some people in plainclothes, and others wearing full face masks. tection system, subjected to deploring living conditions and exposed to a series of other human rights violations.2 • Most tried to enter European territory again after having been pushed back, and were therefore exposed to further risks. • The majority of the interviewees claimed that they had been ill-treated. In the case of those who were pushed back from the island of Farmakonisi, the severity of the reported ill-treatment towards nine male Syrian refugees could amount to torture. 1 | See: ANNEX, Table 1 X | sUMMARY | kEY-fINDINGS 2 | To learn more about the situation of irregular migrants in Turkey, see: PRO ASYL – Überleben im Transit (March 2012). Available at: http://www.proasyl.de/fileadmin/fmdam/NEWS/2012/12_03_16_BHP_PA_Tuerkei__2__03.pdf ; RI - Refugees International 2013: Under Pressure: Lebanon and Turkey Need More Support to Address Syrian Refugee Crisis. kEY-fINDINGS | sUMMARY | XI