"The people who stayed in the car and caught by the police officers were terrified"

The respondent is a young man (age group 18-25y) from Syria. The respondent was apprehended between January and June 2022 in Orestiada shortly after crossing over the land border from Turkey. He was later detained at  Orestiada police station and Metagogon police station (Thessaloniki Police Headquarters) prior being transferred to the Avlona Special Juvenile Detention Establishment where he was incarcerated for a period of 1 year and 3 months. His testimony describing the conditions in detention can be found here.

 

The respondent reported being arrested in a transit group of 6-7 other Syrian nationals, in Orestiada. The respondent reported that, after they crossed the border, he and the rest of the group got in a car. They wanted to reach Thessaloniki. However, almost immediately, they were reportedly apprehended by the police. The respondent reported that they were chased initially by one and later four vehicles which he identified as police cars, which he described, had the symbol of the police on the outside. Inside each car, there were reportedly three to four officers. The respondent additionally recalled that in one car there were police officers with black uniforms, while in the other three cars there were police officers with blue uniforms.

After approximately 1-1.30 hours of driving at a very high speed the driver reportedly stopped the car and escaped into a forest within the Evros region along with 3-4 members of the transit group. The respondent and two other people, who stayed in the car, were reportedly caught by the police officers and “were terrified”. The respondent reported that at this moment three police officers started beating the respondent and the two other people who were in the car with him. They were reportedly slapped in the face by the three police officers, who were asking "Who was driving the car?" in English. The officers inflicting beatings reportedly noticed that the respondent had a phone, so they assumed that the respondent was the driver without providing further justification for this accusation. After accusing him, the police officers reportedly held his face on the ground, on top of a rock, and started beating his face.

Between 11am and 12 pm, the officer reportedly transferred the group of three to a large white van driven by two people in civil clothes who were carrying firearms. Without providing any information, they were transferred to the van, escorted by two police cars, which drove for approximately 20 minutes to reach a police station in the city of Orestiada.