9. Asylum and the asylum procedure in detention
methods are incapable of replacing the physical presence
of a qualified interpreter who facilitates clear communication.
The consultative presence of UNHCR during the first interview cannot redress the absence of basic safeguards. In any
case the UNHCR member is not present in all interviews.
9.2.2 Lost documents or other personal items,
refusal to accept submitted documents in a
foreign language, and no translation mechanism
for documents
Documents carried by refugees proving their asylum case,
which were temporarily confiscated by police officers, were
lost or never returned to their owners after the release or
during the interview.
A.R. carried with him a USB-stick and a hard disc with data
proving his asylum case. The police confiscated these without providing him with some form of registration receipt.
Upon his release, his personal belongings were never returned to him. During his first interview the police requested these documents. He explained what happened. The
police did not even refer to this in the interview protocol.
61
The police authorities refuse to register documents in a
foreign language. They request the detainees to bring
documents in the original and have them officially translated into Greek. It is clear that no asylum seeker in detention in Evros has access to the official translation services
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens.
M.Z. appeared before a police officer for the asylum interview. He had with him original documents that proved his
asylum claim. The police refused to accept or even to take
them into account because they were not officially translated. When M.Z. arrived in Athens he asked the translation
services of the Ministry of Foreign Affaires to translate the
documents. However, there is no official translation from
Farsi to Greek available.
During or after the interview, the police authorities do not
provide any translation of the documents related to the
asylum examination, which have been handed in or
shown to the police. The police do not even take into consideration the documents, and at the end decide on the
case without being aware of the context of the documents
handed in by the asylum seekers.
9.3. Decisions and appeals
B.M., detainee in the Feres border guard station, had a
number of CDs with him. He was not allowed to take these
items to his asylum interview.
Before the publication of PD 114/2010 in December 2010,
the asylum applications were regularly being dismissed in
the first instance without detailed legal reasoning and
■ »With regard to the above examination and the relative
administrative file, no sufficient element was found for the
submission of the claimant to the refugee status;
was lodged in order to prevent his deportation from our
country, to secure his release and his permanent stay in our
country;
With regard to the above examination and the relative
administrative file, no sufficient element was found for the
submission of the claimant to the subsidiary protection;
With regard to the fact that the above application is
considered as clearly inadmissible and the accelerated procedure is applied in accordance with art 17 par 3 and
4 a’ Presidential Decree 114/2010;
With regard to the above examination and the relative
administrative file, no sufficient element was found for
the submission of the claimant to humanitarian protection;
With regard to the fact that the claimant claimed asylum
on a basis which is clearly not related to the criteria for
the granting of refugee status, or subsidiary protection,
he is considered an economic migrant. His asylum claim
190 Decision of F.H. from Iran; April 26, 2011.
For these reasons we decide:
– The examination of his asylum application with the
accelerated procedure;
– To not grant refugee status to the claimant;
– To not grant subsidiary protection to the claimant;
– To not grant humanitarian protection to the
claimant.«190
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