"Those days that I spent in Allodapon was the hardest time of my life."

The respondent, a 45 to 65 year old woman from Iran was detained in the Athens airport in the first half of the year 2018. The respondent recalled being in the process of boarding a flight when she was stopped at the final gate. She recalled having her travel documents double-checked by the woman working at the boarding desk and the male colleague standing beside her.

 

“I showed my document to the woman who was checking all the documents. She looked at my passport and then she passed my passport to her colleague, a man who was standing behind her, and they started asking questions that I didn't know how to answer because I didn't know their language.”

 

The respondent was reportedly travelling alone at the time of her arrest, but recalled seeing six other people, including one Arab woman, one Congolese or Somalian man and two couples from Iran, also apprehended and prevented from boarding the flight. The group was reportedly instructed to stand aside until the plane took off, and were then accompanied to a room described by the respondent as an office with a table and a chair. The respondent noted here that all communications with the authorities throughout her detainment were done in Greek, which at the time, the respondent did not understand.

 

A few minutes later, the respondent explained that a man without a uniform dressed in pants and a shirt entered the office and let the rest of the people go while she was told to remain in the room. In total, she recalled being held in the first detention site for approximately one hour. 

 

When she was asked if at any point she was told why she was being detained, the respondent replied: “No, they didn’t talk too much. They just asked about my documents, but I didn't understand at the time what they meant. He kept asking “where is your paper” and I didn't understand.”

 

Whilst detained in the first room, after the other detained people had been let go, the respondent described how a man in a uniform confiscated her phone, forced her to unlock it and then searched through her photos and files. “He found a picture of my son and he was zooming in on it asking “who is this person?””.

 

The respondent was then transferred to another site, which she described as being more like a detention area within the airport grounds, by a man in a grey uniform with “police” written on his shirt; he had a gun, handcuffs and a walkie talkie. This room was reportedly very close to the first detention site, recalled the respondent. When asked to further describe this detention site, the respondent replied: “This was more like a jail actually. It had bars. A door with bars and a desk. Inside the room there were just two tiny little tables and a bathroom. That’s it.”

 

She was reportedly kept there alone for approximately 24 hours. “I was by myself and as soon as they put me in the room they locked the door and they just disappeared. But I was listening and I could hear people outside. I went to the door because I could hear noises and I was very scared and I was knocking on the door and screaming. They didn't even bring me a bottle of water. They completely forgot about me.” 

 

The respondent stated that no translator was provided for her at any point. The respondent also reported that her phone was taken and repeated several times that she had been very scared being alone in the cell the entire time. “There were many questions in my mind. I was thinking “why did they let all the other people go and they kept me here?” I was very scared.”

 

The respondent did not recall exactly how long she had been detained in the airport, but did state that when she had arrived it was day time and by the time she was transferred to the third detention site, which she referred to as a police station, it was dark. “I just remember it was dark and when they put me in the car and uncuff my hands”. She described the vehicle that drove her to the detention site as a white “normal police car” with police written on it and blue sirens on top. She also identified three uniformed men accompanying her in the car; one driving, one in the passenger seat and one in the back with her. According to the respondent, the drive to the third detention site took approximately half an hour. She further described this detention site as “a big building.” Reportedly, when she arrived at the detention facility, she was brought up some stairs and into the building where her fingerprints were taken and she was searched; only her phone was taken from her. The respondent’s phone was reportedly never returned to her. She then recalled being put into a cell with one Kurdish woman and two women from Iraq; the Kurdish women had a child between the age of five and six months. 

 

The respondent recounted how she was still unaware as to why she was detained, “I was very confused and I didn't know what was the reason they were putting me in a cell.” As her phone had been confiscated, she had no way of contacting her son to tell him what happened. Despite not being able to communicate well with the Kurdish woman, the respondent explained that this woman had let her use her phone so the respondent could call her son. 

 

The respondent reported spending one night in the cell, during which she was provided with drinking water but no food, and the following morning she was called out to speak with a Farsi translator who explained to her the situation and the reason for her detention. She was reportedly told that she had a court date and that she would need to contact a lawyer. The respondent explained that she then gave her son’s number to the interpreter so that they could explain to him the situation and help provide her with a lawyer. “Anything I needed, I would ask them to call my interpreter so the interpreter was the person who connected me with my son or was passing the news to my son.” 

 

In total, the respondent reportedly spent three days at this third detention centre. She was reportedly given food, water and had access to a toilet. When she wanted to smoke, the respondent explained that she would be accompanied out to an area where she could smoke her cigarettes.  When asked how she was treated while detained at this site, the respondent replied that the “police behaviour was normal. The food was not good.”

 

On the third day she was brought to court; she was not provided with a lawyer and there was no Farsi interpreter present. She was reportedly told to return to court in 15 to 20 days. When the respondent was brought back to the detention site, she was relocated to a fourth and final detention site referred to her as ‘Allodapon’ [Petrou Ralli Pre-Removal Detention Centre]. Upon her arrival, she was reportedly searched again and had her belongings taken from her; she was permitted to keep one or two pieces of clothing and 20 to 30 euros cash. “I got checked by a female police officer. She checked all my suitcase and she also checked my body.” The respondent recalled 40 to 50 other women from many different countries being present at the detention site. 

 

The respondent explained that she had managed to hire a lawyer but she recalled that he was not helpful. The only thing the lawyer did was start working on my case to apply for asylum. That’s it. He didn’t follow up on my case and he didn't even show up in the court. He got 500 euros from me for doing that.”  The respondent recalled receiving multiple letters for voluntary deportation in a language she did not understand, but was warned by other women at Petrou Ralli not to sign them or she would be sent back to Iran or to Turkey. 

 

There were a couple of non-governmental organisations identified by the respondent as Arsis and Greek Council for Refugees that were present at the detention site that provided some legal support and helped the respondent with her asylum case.

 

The respondent spent more than two months in Petrou Ralli. When asked if there was anything else she wanted to add to her testimony, the respondent replied: 

“Last but not least, the situation inside Allodapon - the behaviour of the female police officers - was very very bad. They were very disrespectful and they behaved very badly with us. Those days that I spent in Allodapon was the hardest time of my life. I don't want anyone, especially women, to go through that situation ever again.” 

 

The respondent’s asylum case was successful and she has been residing in Greece since 2018.