“He was hit by the police because he tried to speak and ask for information and to know about protection. And then they beat him.”
The respondent has been pushed back to Turkey more than five times, over the course of nine months. The push backs began in October or November 2015 until February 2016.
In February 2016, they were staying in an abandoned building near the border. They were found by the police and sent back to Turkey. He had met a group of people at the border and they decided to walk together (20 people). 19 of them hid inside the abandoned building, in Alexandroupoli. They had divided themselves into 3 groups, everyone would go out one by one to reduce the risks. He was the fourth person to go out, when he got out five policemen came. One stayed in the car, the other four pulled their guns and forced them back into the building.
They were brought to some kind of station, but it wasn’t a police station. The people there were not wearing any uniform, they weren’t ‘normal’ Greek police. They were brought to the ‘station’ by a closed car. It took about 20 minutes from the abandoned building. They took his mobile phone. He says that other members of the group had their phones, but they weren’t allowed to use them. They were being watched by the police and there was no signal.
It was 5am when they arrived in Alexandroupoli and 8am when they were arrested. They stayed in the ‘station’ for five hours.
During another push back in December 2015, the respondent was taken to a military barracks. There, the Greek military were present. They separated the men and women into different buildings, and pushed them back. They were in the barracks from 9am until 5pm. Then, a closed car came and they were loaded in. They drove for about one hour to another military place, close to the border. From here, they were made to walk for half an hour in a line, and then one by one they were pushed across the river by boat.
The respondent claims violence was used against members of the group, not the women and children but against the young men. The military told the members of the group not to look up, anytime anyone looked up they hit them. This happened during the push back. He says they couldn’t ask for asylum, as they weren’t allowed to speak. If they spoke, they were hit. He says the Greek police hit a man because he tried to seek asylum; ‘he was hit by the police because he tried to speak and ask for information and to know about protection. And then they beat him.’