58 »›We have no pink cards here,‹ the officer told me when I said that I wanted international protection.« F.H., from Iran185 ■ F.H. was arrested December 16, 2010 and transferred to Soufli detention centre. »When I was arrested, Greek police officers in Soufli asked me about my data without an interpreter. I was very afraid of being deported so I told them I was Afghan. They asked me many questions about Afghanistan and I could answer them all. But one of the officers told me: ›You are not Afghan, you look Iranian.‹ This all happened on the second day. […] I tried twice until I succeeded to arrive in Greece. When we crossed the border we heard shootings. […] I have told the police that I cannot go back to Iran. My life is in danger. Nobody told me that I was here to be deported. I was transferred to Komotini for deportation. It was there that I was informed after 15 days that I could talk with the Iranian embassy about being deported back. I said I wanted to claim asylum. The police told me: ›We have no pink cards here,‹ the officer told me when I said that I wanted international protection. When I asked them again about claiming asylum they told me: ›If you ask for asylum here then you will stay in prison for one year.‹ S.K. informed us that he had changed religions. He was kept in confinement along with other Iranians. When they discovered that he had become a Christian, five of them allegedly beat him up. The police transferred him temporarily into the telephone room. »I was so desperate in that moment. It was smelly and dirty. I did not know how I can protect myself and how to be sure not to be returned to Iran. I took a telephone card and cut my veins!« He showed us the marks on his left hand. »It was the second time I tried to commit suicide in detention.« The police brought him to the hospital and then changed his cell. During the whole period of his detention S.K. never saw a psychologist or a doctor in Fylakio. On April 16, 2011 D.M., an Iraqi citizen, detained in Tychero border guard station, asked for the support of a lawyer (GCR) in order for his asylum application to be registered. The asylum claim was registered at last on June 16, 2011 after repeated interventions by lawyers. In the meantime 185 F.H. from Iran; February 28, 2011 – Soufli, See also chapter 6.2. 9. Asylum and the asylum procedure in detention We were 250 persons in Soufli prison some days earlier. Now we are 200. There were some women in the cell. They were sexually abused by other detainees and after that they transferred them to Feres. There is only one lamp in the cells. Two children are detained with us. I haven’t taken a shower in 13 days and I only once washed my clothes. There is not enough space for all to sleep. Two people shared one mattress. Once the police beat us as they shouted: ›Go back, go back.‹ But we couldn’t. It was too crowded. This was before I went to Komotini. Then they beat us. Back in Soufli I started a hunger strike together with 11 others. The police wanted to break our protest. They transferred some of us to Fylakio prison. I was one of them. One day in Fylakio we asked for basic things, not anything luxurious but soaps etc. We protested and threw our meals down. The police came and threatened to beat us. I hurt myself with a piece of glass and demanded to be released. The doctor just cleaned my wounds but never gave me stitches. I was finally released after staying in detention for six months.«186 he faced the danger of deportation. This kind of practice exposes the detainees to the risk of refoulement. It also effects the duration of the detention. M.A. from Egypt was arrested on July 13, 2011 and transferred to Fylakio detention centre. »I told them in the very beginning during the registration that I wanted to apply for asylum. Nobody listened to me. Now I don’t want to apply for asylum anymore. Now I just want to die.« Until October 3, 2011 he was on a ten-day hunger strike in order for the police to register his asylum claim. »I was in the telephone room when four police officers entered. They put handcuffs on me and pulled me out into the corridor. They bound my feet. Then they started beating me. I fell down. They continued to beat and kick me for half an hour. It was in the afternoon. Then they put me back to the telephone room. After another half hour they returned me to my cell.« 186 H.F. from Iraq, February 28, 2011 – Soufli; October 2 9, 2011 – Athens