THE DUBLIN II TRAP TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE 31 membership of DHKP-C. He came to Greece for the first time in December 2002. His asylum application was rejected on 14 February 2004. He appealed and travelled to Germany, from where he was returned to Greece under Dublin II on December 2004. He was detained and was about to be expelled to Turkey after receiving the decision to “interrupt” the examination of his appeal application. He appealed for the annulment of this decision to the Council of State, and his expulsion to Turkey was suspended. He was again given a pink card on January 2005. In 2005, Amnesty International expressed its concerns about the reasoning of the Board’s decision at first instance and in particular the lack of clarity provided in the Board’s statement regarding the non-substantiation of the applicant’s claims through the evidence provided. In August 2008 the suspension of his expulsion was ordered but up to the time of writing, he has still not been granted asylum in Greece. In April 2009 H.B. went on a hunger strike that lasted more than 25 days, demanding recognition as a refugee in Greece. At a meeting with Members of Parliament and Youth Against Racism, the Deputy Minister of the Interior promised that H.B. would be recognized as a refugee in Greece. However, this promise has still not been fulfilled. Amnesty International has already expressed the view that the evidence provided by the applicant to the organization leads to the conclusion that should he be returned to Turkey he would be at risk of persecution and emphasizes that the threat of his expulsion to Turkey still exists, since he has not been granted refugee status in Greece.114 In another case: S.E. is a refugee from Iran, where his father was actively involved in a forbidden party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party. When he was 17 years old, S.E. and his family fled from Iran to northern Iraq. There he and his father became active members of the same party. When the security situation in northern Iraq worsened and his father was wounded in an attack against him, the family decided to flee to Turkey. There they were recognized as refugees by UNHCR in 2003. Despite this, the Turkish authorities did not allow them to settle in the country, refused to resettle them to another country and tried to deport them to Iran. S.E. told Amnesty International delegates that in October 2004 he tried to reach Greece on a small boat together with 12 other people. When they were close to the island of Lesvos, a police boat came towards them. Their boat capsized and three people drowned. S.E. was rescued and taken to the hospital in Mytilini. After a few days he was transferred to the prison. He said that he was detained in poor conditions, he could not take a shower and there was no warm food. He also told Amnesty International that he was refused the right to apply for asylum, no legal counsel was made available to him and he was prevented from having contact with the outside world. After three months he was released and received an order to leave Greece within 30 days. He arranged travel to the UK. After a dangerous trip by train, van and twice in a muggy load compartment of a lorry, in March 2005 he applied for asylum in the UK. After being detained for four months, in September 2005, he was transferred to Greece under the Dublin Regulation. In Athens he was reportedly detained for a few days and then released with an order to leave the country within two days. He embarked on a hunger strike in front of the GRC building and was arrested. He was placed in detention in Athens for three months. Allegedly he could not apply for asylum and could not speak or meet with a lawyer. When he was released he received an order to leave the country within 30 days. He stayed illegally in Athens and worked as a volunteer for an organization which helps Iranian refugees. One year and five months later he was arrested again, detained for 20 days, and then transferred to the border area of Evros. In February 2007 he was allegedly forced by the Greek police to cross the river in the middle of Index: EUR 25/001/2010 Amnesty International March 2010