34 THE DUBLIN II TRAP TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE “I was detained in the Patras police station for a few days and then was put on a bus with 60 persons from Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. We were transferred to Fylakio detention centre in Evros, and were detained for 25 days. One day the police took us out and drove us to the forest. They beat us and took away all our belongings. Then they put us on a boat piloted by a Greek man. If someone spoke or moved in the boat, the police beat him. There were approximately 35 people in the boat. When we reached Turkish land, the police told us to go. I walked and found a small town and then I went to Istanbul. I was later informed that others were arrested by the Turkish police.” Turkey maintains a geographical limitation with regard to the Refugee Convention and refuses to recognize people of non-European origin as refugees. Amnesty International is concerned that people who are in need of international protection in Turkey are prevented from accessing their internationally recognized rights due to Turkish asylum regulations, which do not conform to international standards and which are unfairly and arbitrarily applied. Furthermore, Amnesty International is concerned that refugees, asylum-seekers and others in need of international protection are forcibly expelled from Turkey to countries where they are at risk of persecution. Amnesty International is also concerned that asylum-seekers and migrants are illegally detained in Turkey.118 According to the statistics provided to UNHCR by the Greek Ministry of Interior for 2008, 10,760 Iraqis were arrested pending deportation, 221 of whom were finally deported to Iraq despite the ongoing insecurity and risks of human rights violations in that country. It is also noteworthy that the proportion of Iraqi asylum-seekers who receive international protection in Greece is extremely low.119 Amnesty International is opposed to all forcible returns to Iraq at the present time, including those that occur directly as well as those that occur indirectly. In line with UNHCR’s position,120 Amnesty International believes that all individuals from southern and central Iraq should be granted refugee status or a complementary form of protection. Regarding Iraqis from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, an individual assessment in a fair and satisfactory asylum procedure should be made to assess whether they are in need of refugee status or complementary protection. However, if Iraqis from the Kurdistan region of Iraq do not qualify for refugee status or complementary protection, they should be granted temporary humanitarian protection until the status of Kirkuk has been finally and peacefully resolved and it is otherwise safe for them to return.121 Amnesty International is concerned that asylum-seekers in Greece may be at risk of refoulement due to the authorities’ failure to provide a full and fair asylum determination procedure. To the police Dublin II returned asylum-seekers are indistinguishable from other asylum-seekers and are exposed to the same risks.122 Non-refoulement, as explained above, is an international obligation of fundamental importance. The fulfilment of such obligations towards refugees and others in need of international protection requires that refugee status determination procedures are carried out as effectively as possible to ensure that individuals who are in need of international protection are recognized as such and are given the protection to which they are entitled under international law. Amnesty International March 2010 Index: EUR 25/001/2010