The Immigration Appeal
Board
Press Release
07.02.2008
On the basis of the latest
information about the possible violations of the rights of asylum seekers in
Greece, and on the basis of the need for more information about the conditions
of the asylum seekers in this country, the Immigration Appeal Board has halted
until further notice the transfers to Greece according to the Dublin
II-Regulation.
This outcome includes that the
Immigration Appeal Board shall not conclude any judgment in the asylum cases whereby
the individual shall otherwise be returned to Greece according to the Dublin
II-Regulation. This will take place until new information about the situation
is accumulated and assessed.
As for the asylum seekers
whose claims have been rejected by the Immigration Appeal Board, and who are
supposed to return to Greece according to the Dublin II-Regulation, their
obligation to leave Norway is until further notice suspended. This includes
that until further notice these asylum seekers do not have the obligation to
abide by the previous decisions concluded by the Immigration
Appeal Board in returning to
Greece. The police have also been given instructions that until further notice
these asylum seekers are not to be transported to Greece as mentioned above.
Contact person in the
Immigration Appeal Board:
Director Terje Sjeggestad,
phone nr: + 47 90055384
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The Norwegian
Immigration Appeals Board
Att: Director Terje Sjeggestad
Postboks 8165 Dep.
0034 Oslo
Copy:
The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
Att: Minister Bjarne Hkon Hanssen
The Directorate of Immigration
Att director Ida Brresen
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Att: Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stre
Oslo, 25th of January 2008
Stop the transfer of asylum seekers to Greece by the
Dublin II- Regulation
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Norwegian Organisation for
Asylum Seekers (NOAS) are
calling for a halt in the transfer of asylum seekers to Greece according to the
terms in the Dublin II Regulation. In our opinion, these transfers are not unjustifiable as long as Greece does not fulfil its
obligations mentioned in the Refugee Convention and as long as the judicial and
humanitarian conditions for asylum seekers in Greece remain reproachable. We
fear that Norway may indirectly violate the principle of non-refoulement by abiding to the Dublin II Regulation in
terms of Greece.
Here follows a brief account of why we mean that it is
imperative that Norwegian immigration authorities process applications for
asylum (according to art. 3(2) of the Dublin II Regulation) rather than
transfer them back to Greece.
Risk of refoulement
The UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and a number of Greek human rights
organizations[1] express
grave concern of the practice of the Greek authorities of returning Iraqi
refugees to Turkey. According to the High Commissioner, Turkey frequently
deports the refugees back to Iraq, where they risk persecution.
A note from the High Commissioner issued the summer of
2007 urges the member states to consider factors () that could result in
indirect refoulement.
This is based on the fact that Greek immigration authorities have a continued
practice of partially interrupting the process of a claim (interrupted claims)
in the event the claimant travels outside Greece, in spite of the fact that the
state accepts receiving again former asylum seekers. This implies that asylum
seekers who are later transferred back to Greece risk not receiving a proper
processing of their case.[2]
Greece has the lowest percentage of granted asylum
claims in Europe with practically very few admissions each year. In addition,
Greece issues a very limited number of residence permits based on humanitarian
grounds. According to Greek Helsinki Monitor, only 0.5 % of the rejected asylum
claimants were granted residence permits on humanitarian grounds. This implies
that Greece rejects many asylum claims that otherwise would have been granted
refugee or protection status based on humanitarian grounds in Norway.
Access to legal procedure
It is not only asylum seekers with interrupted
claims that have problems with providing access to an asylum procedure. Greece
is also criticized for not providing this access to persons who are arrested
for crossing the borders illegally. The Danish Refugee Help Organisation reports on its website that Greece in 2006
arrested a total number of 8,157 Iraqis as illegal immigrants. Only 1,415 got
the chance to apply at all – but none of these were granted
asylum.
The German organization Pro Asyl published in October 2007 a report in
cooperation with Greek organizations that documents how Greece systematically
violates human rights by refusing refugees at the border, by arresting and
mistreating many of them, and in addition returning them by force to Turkey
wherefrom they risk being deported to their home country where they can be
prosecuted. In the report The truth may be bitter, but it must be told the following can be read:
The police
arrest all new arrivals, including asylum seekers and particularly vulnerable
individuals such as victims of torture and human trafficking, disabled persons,
pregnant women, minors and refugees from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan
and Somalia. They are all issued with automatic deportation orders –
without a hearing, without any examination of their entitlement to protection.
This practice effectively constitutes a denial of access to the asylum
determination procedure.
Because of this information, the organizations demand,
among others, that other Dublin-countries stop the transfer of asylum seekers
to Greece in accordance with the principles of the Dublin II Regulation.[3]
The Greek practice in receiving refugees and asylum
seekers
Greece has, in general, an underdeveloped asylum
system. Even though asylum seekers have several rights according to Greek law,
these do not have much relevance in practice – because asylum seekers are
not informed about their rights and because the authorities in reality do not
respect or practice these rights. As a consequence of the practice of not
granting the asylum seekers an interpreter, they can be fooled into withdrawing
their applications or lose the right to make a complaint.
The social conditions for asylum seekers whose claims
are being studied are also unacceptable. In spite the fact that Greece has
several thousands asylum seekers, the camps are only dimensioned for 740
people. The majority of the asylum seekers are not offered any accommodation,
health care or any other social services. The situation is especially intolerable
for families with children.
The situation doesnt get better when many asylum
seekers are held in arrest for a long time, and some of them are victims of
violence from Greek police officers. Video footage that shows how the Greek
police mistreat asylum seekers and immigrants have been broadcasted on
different TV channels, among them Greek and Swedish channels,[4]
and on the website YouTube[5].
Greek Helsinki Monitor informs in an e-mail to the
Helsinki Committee and NOAS on the 18th of January 2008 about a case
where an Iranian asylum seeker became a victim of violence from the Greek
police:
"An
eighteen-year-old Iranian applied for asylum and was called for an interview. A
policeman didn't like his attitude and reprimanded him. Later, when all the
other asylum seekers had left, the policeman called the Iranian in the
interview zone. There he was beaten by three policemen and he was thrown out
without papers..."
The Norwegian practice of transferring asylum
seekers to Greece
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and NOAS are aware of
a decision taken by the Immigration Appeal Board in Norway (IAB) in a case that was handled in
accordance with the Dublin II Regulation, dated the 17th of December
2007. The case concerns an asylum seeker from Azerbaijan, who according to the
Dublin II Regulation could be returned to Greece. IAB based its final outcome
in the case on the supposition that Greece treats asylum applications in a
trustworthy manner. IAB
is aware of the critique addressed to the Greek asylum practices. However in
its decision, it refers to the Norwegian Embassy in Athens that has reported that measures have been
taken to improve the situation, and it concludes: according to the
understanding of IAB, there are no reasons to believe that the Greek authorities
are not treating the claims of the asylum seekers that have returned to Greece
according to the principles of the Dublin II Regulation on the basis of illegal
entry across the border in an untrustworthy manner.
We would like to express our criticism of the choice
taken by the Immigration Appeal Board not to recognize the present conditions
in Greece, as they are described by the UNHCR and other human rights
organizations, but instead to refer to the Greek authorities as having initiated
the improvement of the situation for the asylum seekers.
Conclusion
The Dublin II Regulation presupposes a mutual
obligation to respect the Refugee Convention and other relevant human right
conventions. We appeal to the Norwegian authorities to stop transferring refugees
to a country such as Greece, which obviously is not fulfilling its obligations.
Norway has an independent responsibility to ensure that a person with need of
protection is not being directly or indirectly sent to a place where his life
or safety will be in danger. Furthermore, taking into consideration both legal
safety and humanitarian concerns, our view is that Norway must choose to
consider all asylum applications in Norway that Greece is otherwise responsible
for according to the principles of the Dublin II Regulation.
With kind regards,
(signed)
Bjοrn Engesland
Secretary General of the
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
(signed)
Morten Tjessem
Secretary General of
Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers
(translated in English by NOAS
from the Norwegian original at http://www.nhc.no/php/files/documents/Tema/Flyktning-%20og%20asylpolitikk/brevHellasAsylsoker2-080125.pdf)
My experiences in Greece
(Interview with NOAS)
I am a young man from Baghdad in Iraq. In Iraq, I have
worked with the American forces and as a bodyguard for the Ministry of Culture.
It is because of this that I was threatened by armed groups that belong to the
Muslim army. Therefore, I was forced to seek refuge from Iraq.
I left Iraq first to Syria and from there to Turkey
where I stayed for three months. With the help of some smugglers I went to
Greece by sea. We were 45 people in total from different nationalities on a
boat. The Turkish police shot in the air to intimidate us. They threw some sort
of a lasso rope after us, to catch us or frighten us. At the same time they
were causing waves with their boats, until we reached the Greek side of the
borders. There, we experienced the same as we did with the Turks. The Greeks
were causing waves, and they shot at the boat until we jumped in the sea.
There was an island directly in the vicinity, Chios.
We swam to the island where we were caught by the Greek army. After that, the
military delivered us to the Greek police. They arrested us in a small room,
and they took our fingerprints. I refused to do it because I wanted to travel
further in Europe. They threatened me and beat me up brutally. They used an
electric stick of which I still have bruises on my nose visible because of the
treatment I received there.
Afterwards, they sent us to a prison on the island,
Chios. The prison lies on a hill and the length of the building there was
around 30 to 40 meters. There were more than 250 persons in the prison from
different nationalities. There were two policemen/prison guards, Smadi and
George, which had the responsibility over the prison.
After a short while a lawyer on behalf of the Greek
police came in and interviewed us. Her name was Natasha [GHM note: Natasha is not a
police lawyer, but a NGO lawyer helping asylum seekers in Chios]. She said that our fingerprints would not
be registered in the Migration unit but in the register of the border police.
She said that this was done just for security reasons and not for the purposes
of asylum. Accordingly, these prints would not have any effect in case we
wanted to travel further in Europe.
I didnt declare my real name or my country of origin
because I was afraid that I would be sent back. That is why I am now in this
country. After a month in prison, I was released, and I travelled further to
Athens. Because I didnt have proper clothing and I looked like a foreigner, I
was again caught by the Greek police. They hit me, took all my money that I had
and left me in the street by myself. I had no place to go to, didnt know
anyone there and couldnt speak the language. As a result I had to sleep on the
street in two weeks until I found a job with Greek man. I worked as an ironsmith
worker every day from 6 in the morning until 1 after midnight for only 20 euro.
The police was looking for immigrants all the time.
Therefore, I made a deal with a smuggler in order for him to help me travel to
Denmark by plane. As I was about to leave the airport in Athens, I was again
caught by the police. They hit me and arrested me for one week. Then, I tried
the same another time, and again I was caught and I was arrested for one week.
The last time it happened, I was told by a policeman that I should not travel
through the airport where the security is very strict. I should instead try to
travel through one of two islands [GHM note: he means ports] Komanizia [GHM note: he means
Igoumenitsa] or Patra. He
said that it was much easier to travel from there. But, as I came there, I
couldnt leave. I tried for the third time through the airport. I made a deal
with the smuggler that if he is to succeed that time, I would pay him. I owed
him already 200 euro. He gave me a clear message: that if I didnt send him the
money, I wouldnt be allowed to come back to Greece. He threatened me, but I
paid him the whole sum right there and then. I was apprehensive as I know that
smugglers use mafia methods in the way they deal with people.
Afterwards, I came to Sweden and applied for asylum
there. I stayed there for 8 months. In Sweden, I was told that they have my
fingerprints from Greece, and so therefore I must be sent back there. I
explained to them that I couldnt be in Greece as I didnt get my rights fulfilled
there, and I gave them all the documents that I had. I tried to convince them
not to send me back there, but they explained to me the Dublin Agreement
according to which I must be sent back.
Therefore, I escaped to Norway. I ask for your mercy
because of all the obstacles that I have experienced. I ask the Norwegian
Directorate of Immigration to evaluate my application for asylum and not to
send me back to Greece or Iraq. I swear that my declaration is true.
Ahmad Jwad
Ali
Oslo, 7th of February 2008
[1] Greek Helsinki Monitor, Greek Council for Refugees, Amnesty International and 13 other NGOs, Press Statement 1st of August
2007 http://cm.greekhelsinki.gr/index.php?sec=194&cid=3167
[2]
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?docid=46b889b32 See also 02/2006: UNHCR position on
important aspects of refugee protection in Greece http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?docid=46d530bf2