In fact, few of the children Human Rights Watch spoke to had undergone a medical age examination for the purpose of age determination. Police officers either register age based on a person’s declaration, or independently make what can only be described as an arbitrary assessment. When Human Rights Watch asked a senior police officer whether they followed any procedure when determining a person’s age, he told us, “The only thing we can do is to look at the child to determine the age.”39 As a result children are often registered as older and sometimes younger than their real ages.40 Hayatullah R., who Human Rights Watch met shortly after he was released from the detention center in Mitilini, Lesvos Island, reported, I said I was 12 but they wrote 15. I saw how he wrote 15. I told them I was 12, but they didn’t say anything.41 Fahim F., who was apprehended by police in early 2008 on Lesvos Island, said, I’m 17 years old. Here I’m 14 years old.… The police asked me how old I was but I couldn’t understand their question so they wrote themselves 14. I didn’t say I was 14.42 Sixteen-year-old Sobir S. told us that the police on Lesvos Island did not take into account his identification document during registration: I had an ID but the police didn’t consider it. When I got the deportation order my age was written as 18, but I told them I was Afghan and bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=3ae6b3360 (accessed September 1, 2008), section 5.11; Committee on the Rights of the Child, “Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children outside their Country of Origin,” General Comment No. 6, CRC/GC/2005/6 (2005), para. 31 (i). 39 Human Rights Watch interview with Yiorgos Paliouras, police director, Aliens’ Division of Attica, Amygdaleza detention center, Athens, June 3, 2008. 40 Adults have also been registered as children after they declared themselves to be underage. The date of birth is usually registered as January 1. 41 Human Rights Watch interview with Hayatullah R., ferry Mitilini-Piraeus, June 2, 2008. 42 Human Rights Watch interview with Fahim F., Volos, June 11, 2008. 21 Human Rights Watch December 2008