Sadegh Farahani, a refugee from Iran, uses his cell phone while drinking tea and smoking on the seventh day of a hunger strike in front of the Brandenburg Gate on October 31, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. He and other demonstrators, predominantly from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq, are subsisting on only water, tea and coffee without sugar. Despite the cold temperatures they have been forbidden by the police from having blankets, tents, or isomattresses, as the possession of which would change the official status of the protest, registered in advance, from a 'demonstration' to a 'camp'. They have been sitting in front of the Brandenburg Gate since October 24 and say they will continue their strike until the German government responds to their demands for a halt to deportations and faster processing of asylum applications. Meanwhile the police have been criticized by local party-affiliated as well as non-partisan activist groups for their restrictions.