Iranian refugees at the village of Idomeni, on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), have taken needles and threads and have sewed their mouths shut. They are refusing to eat and have the words “Iran” and “freedom” chiselled to their faces and chest. In their eyes there is sheer desperation.

The purpose of this painful protest by more than six refugees who have sewed their mouths is to show how trapped they feel by controversial new immigration policies brought in after the Paris attacks. Migrants at the region are blocked from leaving apart from those of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Iranians, Moroccans and Pakistanis are doing all they can to draw attention to their predicament. For the fourth day of protest in front of the border police they try to block train lines between Greece and FYROM.

Hamid, one of the men who has sewn his mouth, is a 34-year-old electrical engineer who tells Reuters that he wants to go to “any free country in the world.” He states that returning to his home country is certain death.

Other men from Bangladesh strip to the waist and write slogans all over their body – “Shoot us!” – they write in red paint.

Human rights groups question the policy of allowing entry to migrants on the basis of nationality. They say it is not in accordance to international law.