»The truth may be bitter, but it must be told« Sarvari. Their boat sank off the north-eastern coast of Lesbos. Close by lie the bodies of nameless Kurdish children. They died in 2004 during a ship wreck; their mother and three siblings survived. The corpses of the children were found at the coast. They still wore their life jackets. Since 2002 about 40 to 60 refugees and migrants have been buried in St. Panteleimon. On Saturday 23 September 2007 the bodies of two under age boys from Afghanistan were found on the coast of Lesbos. Graves for unknown refugees are dug in the presence of officials of the coastal police and paid for by the local prefecture. The majority of the deceased refugees were Muslims, however, burial according to Muslim ritual is not provided for in Mitilini. 16 2 Conversation with B. from Afghanistan in Mitilini on the 20 July 2007. B. is 16 years old. 3 Conversation with M. from Afghanistan at Mitilini on 21 July 2007. M. had been released from detention the same day. He is 16 years old. 4 Conversation with Ali from Afghanistan on 20 July 2007 in Mitilini. Ali is 21 years old. 5 Conversation with A. 29 year old Palestinian from Lebanon, recorded in Samos on the 8 August 2007 6 Conversation with B. from Ethiopia, recorded in Samos on 8 August 2007 7 Transcript of a conversation held on the 24 July 2007, recorded by lawyer Tzeferakou in Athens. The Medical Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture holds a medical file of this case. The following report matches notes of conversations held in the detention centre in Chios during a visit by the Tzeferakou, Lawyer Strachini and Karl Kopp on 16 July 2007. 8 This information was obtained through a conversation of Marianna Tzeferakou and Karl Kopp with H.’s lawyer, Taner Kilic, in Focia, Turkey on 7 August 2007, and through a number of telephone calls with H. 9 End of September 2007 10 Compare profile of the Ministry on its homepage www.yen.gr 11 The Marine Ministry and the ›Ministry of Aegean sea and islands’ affairs« are united to the »Ministry of Marine, Aegean Sea and Islands’ Affairs«. Since 19 September 2007 the responsible Minister is Giorgos Voulgarakis. 12 ibid 13 Elias Bierdel held the conversations with members of the coast guard and fishermen on different islands. 14 Conversation with Apostolos Mikromastoras, held by Elias Bierdel on 3 August 2007. 15 Conversation on 18 July 2007. 16 Unlike in Lampedusa, Malta or the Canaries, there are no international waters between the Turkish mainland and the greek Aegean islands. In the narrow straits (sometimes of only a few kilometres) the territorial waters of the two states meet. The exact line of the border is still not clarified between Ankara and Athens. The Greek coast guard is therefore officially under no circumstances to operate in Turkish waters. At the moment that the boats are stopped by the Greek coast guard they are already in the territorial waters of Greece. The practices of the Greek coast guard: systematic human rights violations