The Situation of Refugees in the Aegean and the Practices of the Greek Coast Guard,”89 demonstrate that elements within the Greek Coast Guard do abuse and push back migrants, putting their lives at risk and denying asylum seekers among them even the possibility of asking for protection.90 In a November 22, 2007 letter to the Ministry of Mercantile Marine, the Greek Ombudsman wrote: The regularity of the complaints, the cross-reference and relevance of witnesses’ reports of the incidents suggest, at the very least, that the prevention—containment—of illegal entry of foreigners occurring at the country’s borders, particularly by sea, consists of one of the most controversial activities of the Greek authorities with regard to…human rights.91 The testimonies about Greek Coast Guard pushbacks vary in their details, but are consistent in telling how the actions of the Coast Guard, including puncturing of inflatable boats, removal of motors, and taking away oars before setting migrant vessels back in the water, sometimes without life vests, put their lives in danger.92 A 28-year-old man from Baghdad who fled Iraq after his brother, who worked as a translator for the Americans, was kidnapped and killed by the slitting of his throat, told Human Rights Watch about his near-death experience after the Greek Coast Guard put him on a rubber boat, towed it towards the Turkish shore, and punctured it: In August 2007, I went on a boat from Izmir. This was the first time I passed to Greek territory. We left from Ayvalık. The Greek navy stopped 89 Pro-Asyl and Group of Lawyers for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, The truth may be bitter, but it must be told:” The Situation of Refugees in the Aegean and the Practices of the Greek Coast Guard, Athens, October 2007. Two of the testimonies in this report: First testimony: “The Greek coast guard forced us back into the rubber dinghy on the high seas. Before we got back on they made small cuts in it with knives. Every group only got one oar. Our shoes were thrown in the water. It was very difficult for us to reach the shore in the damaged boat with only one oar.” Second testimony: “The police threw the bread and water, and whatever else was left in our dinghy, into the water. The dinghy was put over our heads. The police drove us back into international waters. About two kilometers in front of the Turkish coast they threw the dinghy out. Then we were violently forced back onto it. They had made a small hole in the rubber dinghy and only gave us one oar. We paddled desperately to reach the coast, but we were so exhausted. We gave up just after an hour. We thought we were going to die.” (p. 10). 90 Ibid. includes testimony alleging that Greek Coast Guardsmen tortured migrants by threatening to drown or suffocate them by pushing their heads into buckets of water and by putting plastic bags over their heads, pp. 10-11. 91 Letter from Yorgox B. Kaminis, Greek Ombudsman, Protocol No. 2915, to the Minister of Mercantile Marine and the Deputy Minister of Interior, November 22, 2007. Unofficial translation on file with Human Rights Watch. 92 Testimonies about Greek Coast Guard abuses include B-8, B-11, B-15, B-60, B-111, S-113, S-125, S-144, and S-148, in addition to the people quoted in this section. Stuck in a Revolving Door 42