a special report on the syrians’ illegal migration - greece as an example

Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

mailto:http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/%23atop

Daily killing, fatal torture, siege, starvation, fear, lack of security, arbitrary arrests and kidnapping

are some reasons, among many others, that have forced millions of Syrians to flee their country and

seek refuge in the neighboring states in order to save themselves and their children this daily suffer-

ing. Meanwhile some Syrians, those living in Syria’s bordering countries and longing for a better

life, seek humanitarian asylum in Western countries by regularly submitting their applications to

embassies or to the UNHRC. Others have chosen to be “smuggled” illegally into foreign countries,

travelling without any official papers or IDs. This can be suicidal when it is undertaken by sea, giv-

en the high risk of drowning, and those who do survive often face humiliating forms of deportation.

MethodologyThe Report depended on several testimonies1 , four of them being from citizens who made a pre-

liminary stop at Greece before heading to their ultimate destinations in other countries. They talked

about how they were arrested, beaten and ill-treated by the Greek authorities. VDC has been able

to contact these detainees and / or prisoners by telephone in prison. It has also used Skye to contact

others, some of whom had been able to reach European countries and others of whom are still wait-

ing in Greece. These witnesses are:

1. Dr. Fayad Sulaiman

2. Abduljabbar Arafeh

3. Khuder Shlash

4. Fadi Marwan al-Jasoumeh

5. Abdullah. He reached the country he was heading to and get an asylum.

6. Lawyer (A, R) from Homs

7. Mahmoud al-Ahmad, 41 years, from Damascus

www.vdc-sy.info [email protected] 1

Background

Violations Documentation Center in Syria

1-The Lawyer Reem Zeitouneh has conducted all the interviews


2

Europe is usually the main destination for Syrian refugees, and Greece is almost the only entrance

to it; Greece is one of the European countries that overlooks the Mediterranean towards the Balkan

Peninsula, and it has land and sea borders with Turkey in the East. Many Syrian refugees therefore

enter Greece through the river between Turkey and Greece which is, in turn, a way through it. The

multiplicity of the Greek islands also helps to ease the sneaking.

Greece is seen as a way to get to European countries, rather than a final or target destination for the

refugees. However, it is one of the countries that follows a policy of humiliating deportation from

its territory, especially when dealing with the humanitarian crisis of the Syrian refugees.

A – Asylum Applications submitted by Syrians living inside Syria are not approved in the embas-

sies of some foreign countries like Canada, the USA and Britain except in accordance with specific

requests and conditions. For example, the applicant must have a relative who is a Canadian, British

or American citizen.

B -The Refugees to the Neighboring Countries: Their applications for asylum are rejected but under certain conditions. They should be registered

at the United Nations on one hand. On the other hand, the circumstances surrounding the applicant

should impose a potential threat to his life and security, or he should be a former detainee threatened

with a repeat arrest.

Many of the refugees smuggling illegally into Greece in order to apply for asylum are immediately

rejected and asked to leave the Greek territory due to the country’s economic poor situation. In July

2013, two presidential decrees were issued regarding the procedures for refugees, who are defined

and treated accordingly.

1 - Presidential Decree No. 90/2008 does not provide any legal assistance except at the appeal stage

and after the application for asylum is rejected. Reviews of the rejected applications lack independ-

ence because the Appeals Committee is also an advisory body to the Minister of the Interior. More-

over, lawyers have a limited access to the files and clients of the cases. Also, applications for asylum

must be submitted personally, which puts the applicant to the risk of being arrested, and they must

be submitted upon the entry to the country. There are no specific provisions to ensure that those who

get arrested upon arrival can take advantage of having followed the required procedures. On top of

that the Greek law allows the arrest of asylum seekers for up to 60 days.

2 - Presidential Decree No. 96/2008 determines the criteria that qualify a person to be protected as a

refugee and on humanitarian grounds. However, it excludes those who commit offences that require

three months imprisonment.

First: Applying for Asylum in Embassies and Legations

Second: Applying for asylum in Greece

Introduction



The travel route carries a lot of hopes and dreams for the Syrian refugees and some are lucky enough

to reach their destination, but it is also dangerous and exhausting - some would-be refugees drown

and others get arrested.

There are several ways of travelling, the most dangerous of which is travelling by sea from the

Turkish coast on boats and small ships that do not meet minimum safety standards. Another way is

to travel by road from the Turkish-Greek borders, specifically from the vicinity of the Turkish city

(Edirne) next to the Greek borders. The land road is also risky because there is a large river across

which everyone who enters Greek territory must pass after several hours of rambling. Eyewitnesses

say a number of refugees have drowned in that river.

The lawyer (A, R), who is 27 years old and from Homs, and who has been stuck in Greece for more

than five months now, described his situation:

“The first time I attempted to go to Greece from one of the coastal cities of Turkey, I was with several

people. We got into a ‘Jet Boat’, which is a rubber boat with an engine. However, the Turkish coast-

guard arrested us, not far from the Turkish coast, and sent us back to where we had come from. On

that occasion I paid € 1,500. The second time I got luckier having paid 3,500 euros for a smuggler

to get me to Athens.

Third: Travelling to Europe through Greece



He adds:“Samos, the island that faces the Turkish city of Izmir, is the target for most of the refugees. There are

many other islands like Samos, such as Kos, Rhodes and Mytilini but Samos is practically the only

island that has refugee camps. When arrested, refugees spend about 17 to 30 days in these camps.

When released, the refugee is given a paper of ‘Banishment from the Greek Soil’ which gives its

recipient days (or occasionally months) to leave Greece. Some refugees were able to get their papers

renewed. In December, a friend of mine (A, Sh), from the Coastal City of Jabla, tried to get to one

of the islands near the Turkish borders between Marcine and Antalia. Along with three other people,

he swam to an island that is 4 km away from the coast. When they arrived, Greek Police turned them

in to coastguards, who threw them into the sea to swim back to Turkey.

In regard to his suffering till he got to the destination country, Abdullah, 24 years old and from the City of Dier EzZour says: “On the fifth of Ramadan 2013, in an attempt to get to some European country, I travelled with two of

my friends from Dier EzZour to Turkey. Twenty of our friends were waiting for us in Turkey. At first

we wanted to travel by air, but for that Syrian smugglers asked very high sums ranging from 15000

to 20000 euros. We therefore decided to go overland on foot. Our biggest torture was in Greece;

when they caught us and knew us to be Syrians, they beat us and stole all our money. Among them,

there were three masked German policemen. One night, after 01:00 am, they tied us and dumped us

on the other bank of the river. We walked for more than a day till we got back to Turkey.”

About his second try, Abdulla Added:“We arrived on foot to the Greek City of Falonek- the previous capital of Greece – and then to Mac-

edonia, where we were arrested by the Macedonian Police. They took all our money and broke our



mobile phones before turning us back to Greece. We spent almost a month at the Greek-Macedonian

borders. When we got to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, we spent a week there as we had spent

the month before in the woods. After that we headed towards Serbia, but we got arrested again by

the Macedonian Police. They detained us for six days and asked me to pay money to be released, but

when I offered to pay they refused to let me out saying that I’m a ‘terrorist Taliban’.

During the detention period and every time they brought us food, they repeated the phrase “Russia

good” and we had to reply by nodding and saying “yes, yes”. When we were released, we walked

for about a week until we got to the capital, Belgrade, and then we got to ‘Bokofaga’ and from there

to Austria.”

Some refugees stated to VDC that they were mistreated, robbed and sent back to Turkey by the

Greek Police. They were also beaten savagely, to the extent that the marks on their bodies remained

for months after their release. They were exposed to many torture and beating techniques like being

hit on the head with pliers and some of them were released only to be tied and thrown on the other

side of the river.

In this regard, witness Abdullah says:“In Greece, the policemen handcuffed us and fully inspected our bodies; they even made us take off

our underwear for this purpose. They took all our money and modern mobile phones, then cast us

into Turkey. In Macedonia, however, they didn’t force us back to Greece. They cast us into Kosovo,

where they put us in a forest by the side of Albania or Bulgaria to avoid the trouble and expense of

getting us back to Greece..”

Prisoner AbdulJabbar Arafa, a young man who was detained along with 24 men in a police sta-

tion, and who is now in Komentina prison for nearly three months, stated to VDC that he was de-

tained in a village near the Greek border while on his way back to France after delivering aids to the

Syrian refugees. He says:

“On my way I was stopped by two people who turned out to be Syrians. I gave them a ride as we

are all from Syria and they wanted a ride for about 50 km away. After travelling no more than 10 km

we were stopped by police. One of the two passengers got afraid and hid in the closet of the vehicle

(I have a closet and a small kitchen in my vehicle). I gave them all the necessary papers, but they

wanted to inspect the vehicle. I told them that there was someone else hiding in the closet, as I was

afraid that these two Syrians might be involved in something illegal. They took us all and I have been

detained since then without any justification being presented to me. I later, hired a lawyer and she

promised to get me out in three days, but she disappeared and didn’t answer her phone after taking

Fourth: Violations against Syrian Refugees in Greece:



all the fees in advance. She works in the office of the detention center they held us in. Some of my

relatives tried to contact her but in vain.”

AbulJabbar adds:“According to the international laws, I’m not supposed to be arrested for more than 72 hours. It’s been

two months now and I have not seen the sun. It’s a well-known prison called ‘Komentina’. It’s part of

the detention centre in Meataxades near the borders. This was the second place I was held. The first one

was worse – it was very bad one as it was full of mice, it stank and there was no hot water for showering.

- Many of the detainees tried to go on a hunger-strike in an effort to complain and claim their

rights, but the administration of the prison didn’t care; although the guards are supposed to take

detainees’ signature at every meal to show that the detainees have eaten, they save themselves any

problems by faking these signatures when detainees refuse to sign..”

Mr. Muhamad, a relative of one of the detainees, says - “One of the detainees started shouting and threatening to hang himself unless they let him out,

and so he did after they ignored his request.”

- Among the violations that have been documented by VDC was about the false accusations

made against the Syrian refugees to get rid of them. After arresting 8 Syrians on a boat, the Greek

Police picked two of them and accused them of smuggling and told the other six to falsely testify to

that or face going back to the river and onwards to Turkey. However, they refuse to testify

Mr. Muhammad says: - “The real smugglers pay huge amounts of money - up to 10,000 euro – to get charges against

themselves dropped, while the innocent people get tried instead.”

Dr. Fayad Sulaiman, also a detainee in Komentina Prison says:“It’s been more than three and half months and they didn’t give me any papers with the reasons of

my arrest. It will take months before I stand before a trial; the verdicts usually involve long sentenc-

es. I couldn’t contact my family as they are out of the phone coverage area inside Syria”.

Khuder Shlash, a 24 year old dissident soldier from Deir EzZour, says:“I have two little daughters and I was trying to get out of the current war. The moment I got to

Greece, I was arrested with two companions. My destination was Germany, not Greece. When they

arrested me, they took all the money I had; my cousin had sent me this money from Germany to

cover the expenses of my trip to there.



One of my companions was tied by the police; they also threatened to throw him in the river if he

didn’t confess that I’m a smuggler, even though I denied this in English.

I have been here in Komentina Prison for five months. I know nothing about my family

and daughters. I have received a paper saying that I have a trial in April 2014 and that I prob-

ably be convicted, but I don’t know the reasons for this.. Even the translator they brought for

me is not that good in Greek - when I asked him about that he said that he is a former Syri-

an prisoner from Hama and that it had been only two months since he started learning Greek. In

regard to my two friends, they were released. One of them lives in Greece and the other lives

in Germany. I still communicate with them and they are ready to testify that I’m innocent.”

Fadi from Aleppo, who has a Lebanese residency as he was living there before going to Greece where he was arrested, says:“When I arrived in Greece along with two other people, specifically to the train station in Orslada

Village, we tried to hide but the police were ahead of us. After arresting us, they accused us of smug-

gling nine people. I showed them my papers with my salary as I worked in CBS Company for 7

years. They brought us an Algerian translator who told us that we were accused of trying to smuggle

people. They replaced him with a Yemeni translator. This one didn’t allow us to speak and he spoke

with mockery and irony. After that we hired a lawyer who took 1500 euros and disappeared.

It’s been more than 4 months now and I’m still waiting for the trial which will apparently take

months. When I came to Greece, I was heading to Stockholm in Sweden.”

Fadi Marwan al-Jasoumeh’s ID

A document confirm that Mr. Fadi Marwan al-Jasoumeh was an employee for VP service



One of the most tragic stories that happened to Syrian refugees is told to VDC by witness (B.A), 29 years old:“Once, the Greek Police tied one of the refugees to throw him in the river and before arriving to the

riverbank, they started beating him savagely till his head bled.”

In his testimony, Refugee Mahmoud al-Ahmad told VDC how the Greek authorities beat them while he was on his way to Greece overland:

“After spending 5 successive nights walking in open-air looking for our destination, we turned our-

selves in to the Greek Police. They put us in a prison where there was 24 of us. That was at the end

of November 2013. One night, they put us in a military truck and took us to the borders near Adrna.

They checked if any of the Turkish Border Police were in the area as they were afraid of them, and

then they put us in a boat just like sheep. It was so cold and rainy. When we got to the other bank

they threw us all out. It was so dark and we lost ten people. I saw one refugee hanging to the boat on

the way to the Greek bank. They discovered this and started hitting him with their boots on the face

until he fell into the river. We looked for him but in vain.”

When a detainee can’t afford the fees to hire a lawyer, the court doesn’t hire one for him; thus he

has to advocate himself, and in many cases, according to witnesses, there was no translator during

the appearance before the judge, which led to cruel verdicts against him.

Note: after we had conducted the interviews with the detainees inside Komentina Prison they were

transferred to an unknown location, apparently to cut their relations with us.

As for AbulJabbar, he was transferred to the Central Prison; they informed him that his trial will

be on September, after ten months of detention. His family tried to bail him, but the bailout was not

approved. He went on 25 days of hunger-strike after which they put him in a solitary cell without

any medical care. They took him to the hospital to administer serum and then brought him back to

the cell.

When the issue arrives to the Greek Court



We appeal to all human rights organizations, Red Crescent, Amnesty International and European

Union that support rights of asylum to help the detained refugees in Greece and the foreign prisons,

and to demand their immediate release or at least hire lawyers to advocate for them, and to provide

them with translators for comprehensible communications with the Greek Government.

VDC also appeals to all human rights and international organizations to help Fadi al- Jasoumeh,

whose health is deteriorating due to the poorly conditioned detention and a severe disease that was

wrongly diagnosed by the doctor of the prison and caused him a stroke. We also appeal to them to

consider the poor health conditions of detainee AbdulJabbar Arafa.

Fifth: Conclusion and Recommendations

For any questions and comments:[email protected] view our previous reports:http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/ar/reports

a special report on the syrians’ illegal migration - greece as an example

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