From when I was released, I have not found even a simple job. I have a
red card; that is all. I live with six others in one room. My red card was
stolen, so I went to the police to report it, and they put me in jail for seven
more days. I asked them, “Why are you putting me in jail?” They said
that they suspected me of giving or selling my red card to someone else. I
didn’t go to court or anything. It was the jail at the Exarchion police
station. It was dirty, just like the other jail.315
Access to Asylum upon Return
Human Rights Watch interviewed a number of asylum seekers, mostly Iraqis, who were
returned to Greece under the Dublin II regulation and who have yet to have had
meaningful examination of their asylum claims. A 34-year-old Iraqi from Baghdad who
said that he left under threat from the Mahdi Army, who was held in horrible conditions
on Chios Island, traveled to Sweden at his earliest opportunity after being released from
detention.316 He spent eight months in Sweden living at an open reception center. “In
my last interview in Sweden, a female official said, ‘I promise you the same rights in
Greece as in Sweden.’ It was a lie what she told me.” He showed Human Rights a letter
in English signed by the commander of the Hellenic Police Headquarters Aliens’ Division,
Brigadier General Constantinos P. Kordatos, that said, “Please note that this person will
be able to submit any asylum application upon arrival to our country if he/she wishes to
do so.”
Swedish officials returned him to Greece in March 2008. They turned over the asylum
claim he filed in Sweden and all supporting documents, which he saw being handed to
Greek police upon arrival. He spent the next four days in the airport jail. “But I had no
interview,” he said. He explained the questions he was asked:
When I first arrived, a woman in civilian clothing said, ‘Where are you
from?’ I said, ‘Iraq.’ She asked where else I had been, and I told her that
I came from Sweden. She asked, ‘Why did you leave Iraq?’ I was in a
room with four other people. There was no confidentiality. I said in
English, ‘Can I speak with you?’ She said, ‘No.’ She gave me a form and
315
316
Human Rights Watch interview (name withheld, B-17), Athens, May 27, 2008.
See above, Chios.
115
Human Rights Watch November 2008
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents