Muslims, the relatively small number who identified as Sunni or Shi`a was evenly split,
and a few spoke about having parents of mixed sectarian backgrounds. The majority of
Iraqis interviewed, 41, came from Baghdad, which was the case for nearly all of the
Muslim newer arrivals. Mosul was home for nine of the interviewees, and eight
originated from Kirkuk. Smaller numbers came from Dahok, Zakho, Erbil, Sulaymaniya,
Diyala, Basra, Najaf, Karbala, and small villages.
Of the 79 Iraqis interviewed, 70 were in Greece, 8 in Turkey, and 1 in the Netherlands. Of
those interviewed in Greece, 62 interviewees were in Athens, 5 in Samos, and 3 were
detainees at Petrou Ralli. Nearly all of the interviews of Iraqi Christians in Athens took
place at a community center near a church that includes a health clinic and provides
other social services. Nearly all of the interviews of Iraqi Muslim Arabs, Kurds, and other
Iraqi minorities took place in complete privacy in slum tenement buildings and cafes in
Athens or the makeshift camp at Pendeli. Of the Iraqis interviewed in Turkey, six (all
Christians) took place in private homes in Istanbul, and two were with detainees in
Edirne. With the exception of detainees and some of the Christians at the community
center, interviews generally lasted at least 40 minutes and often more than an hour.
Of the 94 non-Iraqis interviewed, 56 were interviewed in Greece and 38 in Turkey. Of
those interviewed in Greece, 15 were interviewed in Athens, 10 on the islands, seven (all
Afghans) in Patras, and 14 in detention. Interviews of non-detainees in Athens and on
the islands took place in slum tenement buildings, parks, or the office of the Ecumenical
Refugee Center, and were conducted with complete privacy and often lasting an hour or
more.
Interviews of detainees in Greece did not take place under optimal conditions with
complete privacy from other detainees, but guards who were usually within eyesight of
the interview were not able to hear what was being said. Despite repeated requests,
Human Rights Watch was not granted permission to visit Mersinidi in Chios, PaganiMitilini in Lesvos, and police facilities and detention centers in Peplos, Vrissika, Feres,
Soufli, Tichero, Sapes, and Venna in the Evros region. The information gleaned about
these facilities, therefore, comes exclusively from former detainees (and our brief,
unauthorized visit to Venna).
The Greek Ministry of Interior initially gave Human Rights Watch permission to visit only
two facilities, Fylakio-Kyprinou in the Evros region and the new facility on Samos Island,
Stuck in a Revolving Door
16
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