If you do not give us your money I will rape you in front of your husband.

The respondent, a 50-year-old Iranian man, reported that he, together with his wife and 7 other people including 1 minor, were pushed back from Greece to Turkey via the land border, in late December 2024. The reported pushback took place following the group’s decision to present themselves at a police station in the nearest town that they arrived at in Greece, shortly after crossing the land border from Turkey. The respondent did not recall the name of the town in Greece that they arrived at, and at which they went to the police station. However, the most likely location is estimated to be Orestiada, based on the reported journey time from a specific location in Turkey where the group began their journey, the presence of a train station in the town, the description of the police station by the respondent and the reported driving time from the town to the border with Turkey. The respondent reported that the group proceeded towards the police station and waited in what he described as a “park” in front of the station for approximately half an hour.  The respondent reported that the group then decided to approach the police station and make themselves known to the authorities as refugees. Upon arrival at the police station, the respondent stated that the group were not taken into the building but were asked to wait in the parking lot behind the police station. He described the demeanour of these particular officers as “respectful of us”. After what felt to be approximately 10 minutes, additional officers arrived who requested their documents and also confiscated the mobile phones of everyone in the group.  The respondent mentioned that he showed these officers his UNHCR documentation and his wife showed them her passport. He reported that the others in the group didn’t have any documentation with them. The respondent stated that these officers were wearing Greek police uniforms which he described as navy blue and recognised that they were speaking Greek.  At this point, the group did not request a translator because they didn’t feel it was necessary as they were not inside the police station and not undergoing any type of official procedure. The respondent’s wife reportedly spoke enough English to communicate with the officers. Subsequent to this initial interaction with the officers, the group waited for what the respondent felt to be approximately one hour, after which, a police vehicle was brought to the car park with two additional officers in it. The respondent described the vehicle as a “big blue van, with a police logo […] and a police light”.  He further reported that the van had no windows in the back so the passengers were not able to see outside. He stated that there were small holes that allowed them to peek outside to a limited extent, and get air, but no windows. The respondent further stated that there were no seats in the back of this van. The respondent stated that from the start of their interaction with the police, his wife had explained in English that they wanted to apply for asylum.  The response from the officers was reportedly: “Don’t worry, everything is going well for you, don’t worry, just get in the car”. The respondent stated that the officers asked them to get into the van but did not give them any indication of where they were transporting them to.  At this point, the respondent reported that the group assumed that they were being transported to a nearby camp, for registration. He described the 2 officers transporting them as having guns with them and wearing Greek police uniforms, without any face coverings. During the transportation of the group by police van, which the respondent felt lasted for approximately 20 minutes, the respondent’s wife managed to look out of the small holes in the back of the van.  The respondent stated that his wife alerted the group to the fact that they might be on the way back to the border, rather than moving towards a camp (as the group had assumed). After being driven for what felt like 20 minutes, the group were told to get out of the car into an area that the respondent described as the river at the border between Greece and Turkey.  He further stated that there were 3 men waiting for the group. He described one of the men as being dressed like a “commando”, in a camouflage outfit and with sunglasses obscuring his face, while the other two were dressed in everyday clothes, but with masks/balaclavas covering their faces. The respondent reported that one of these men held a baton or stick in his hand. The respondent reported that they had a vehicle with them that he described as a pick-up truck, “without markings. It looked like a personal car”. The respondent stated that the person dressed in camouflage spoke Greek while the other two men spoke Farsi and identified themselves to the group as Afghan and Baluchi. The respondent reported that the two Farsi-speaking men reassured them that everything was fine, even saying: “Don’t worry, we are here to help you”. The respondent stated that the group were told by the Greek-speaking man to line up and open up their bags. At this point, the two officers who had transported the group were standing some distance away (not involved in the subsequent actions, but not intervening at any point). The respondent stated that the men asked the group to give them all their money. The respondent reported that the behaviour of the 3 men then became increasingly aggressive and accused the group of hiding money and lying. The respondent further stated that the Farsi-speaking men took his wife aside from the rest of the group, while the Greek speaking man twisted his head so he could not clearly see what they were doing to her. However, the respondent reported that he heard the Farsi-speaking men threatening his wife her with rape, if she did not hand over money: ”If you are not giving us your money, I will rape you in front of your husband”. The respondent further reported that himself and others in the group were physically attacked by the 3 men - “they were beating me a lot and they took all my money” - and were told to keep quiet and not shout. Although the respondent could not recall how long the physical violence lasted, he stated that it was so severe that both his wife and the minor individual in the group both fainted at some point and also, that he felt in danger for his life. “When they were hitting us…we thought, maybe we are dying here”. The respondent also stated that he had said to the Farsi-speaking men: “Don’t beat my wife because she is pregnant”. He further reported that the two Farsi-speaking men forcibly removed his wife’s trousers with a knife, stole the money that she had hidden in her underwear and then kicked her “on her tummy”. The respondent reported that due to the intensity of the beating, his wife collapsed on the ground and was bleeding. “When they kicked my wife in her belly, she bled because she was pregnant”. After an unknown amount of time, but at a point that the respondent describes as “when they got tired of beating us”, the respondent stated that the two Farsi-speaking men prepared a boat on the river, told the group to get in it and these two men drove the boat and transported the group to the Turkish side of the river.