VII. Access to Greek Territory: Apprehensions, Orders to Leave, Deportations, Summary Expulsions and Pushbacks Greek border controls both in the Evros region (northeastern Greece) and in and around the Greek islands off the coast of Turkey not only make virtually no distinction between people seeking asylum and others, but also generally show a disregard for the basic human rights of third country nationals. Greek coast guard and police officials violate a host of basic rights, including the right to seek asylum, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right not to be subjected to refoulement—the forcible return of people to places where they would be subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, persecution, or other serious harm. Apprehensions Aside from the physical barriers of river or sea, the greatest obstacle for irregular migrants seeking to cross into Greece is being caught by border or coast guard security personnel.61 When Greek coast guard and police officials first apprehend migrants at the borders, they are often brutal and intimidating. The most frequently cited rationale for this violence is the identification of smugglers among the migrants. A 28-year-old Iraqi from Baghdad now living in Holland and interviewed by telephone, gave this account of his experience upon being apprehended on the shores of Lesvos Island October 28, 2007: The smuggler told us to jump off the boat before landing. We had life vests of shabby quality. I thought we would drown; there was a woman with a child who almost died. The Greek police caught us at 2 am. They beat everyone except the woman and the child. The police were dressed in blue. They kicked and clubbed us with long truncheons. They were trying to get us to confess who took us there. There were seven or eight police beating about 20 of 61 For a discussion of apprehension on the Turkish side of the border see below, Turkey’s Border -Enforcement Response to Greek Pushbacks and to European-bound Migrants. Stuck in a Revolving Door 32