Methodology
This report is based on Human Rights Watch research conducted in Athens in February and April 2013. We chose to focus on Athens because background research, including statistics published by the Hellenic Police and media monitoring, indicated that the problem of abusive identity checks in the context of immigration control police operations was most acute in the capital. Most importantly, Operation Xenios Zeus, aiming at addressing the presence of undocumented migrants in Greece, focuses on Athens.
We interviewed 43 men, 4 women, and 2 boys aged 15 and 16 about their experiences during police stop and search operations. We interviewed 8 undocumented migrants, 20 registered asylum seekers, 5 people with other protected status (one with a recognized refugee status, a person with “subsidiary protection”, and a person holding a residence permit “for humanitarian reasons”), 10 legal foreign residents of Greece, and one migrant holding documentation ordering the suspension of his deportation. They came from Afghanistan, Algeria, Benin, Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Togo. We also interviewed four Greek citizens of African descent; and one white Greek citizen (i.e. from the ethnic majority).
Of the 49 people we interviewed, 44 told us they have been stopped by the police since the launch of Xenios Zeus on August 4, 2012. We note, however, that many interviewees told us about stops even before the start of the operation.
A Human Rights Watch staff member carried out the interviews in Greek with individuals able to express themselves in Greek as well as in the native language of the interviewee through the help of interpreters. Victim interviews were also conducted in French and English with people able to express themselves in those languages. Interpreters were paid for their services.
All of the interviews were conducted individually and in private settings. For all adults, we use only the first name of those interviewed in order to protect their privacy and avoid negative consequences for having spoken with us, except in those cases where the individual requested that their full name be used. Where noted, we have used a pseudonym for adults upon request for the same reasons. In keeping with Human Rights Watch policy, we use pseudonyms followed by an initial for all children. All interviewees were informed of the purpose of the interview, and that their testimony might be used publicly. No incentives were offered or provided to persons interviewed.
We interviewed Major General Emmanouil Katriadakis and Police Brigadier General Alexandros Denekos in the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police, Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection. We spoke with senior representatives of the Union of Police Civil Servants of Attica, the Hellenic Police Guards Union of Attica, and the Association of Border Guards of Attica. We also met with the Greek Deputy Ombudsman for Human Rights and representatives from the European Commission Delegation in Greece and the European Commission Task Force for Greece.
