A “inhuman image”, according to the Greek Minister of Civil Protection. On Friday October 14, 92 refugees were found naked after being forced, according to Athens, to cross the Evros river separating Turkey from Greece. The European border surveillance agency, Frontex, confirmed to Agence France-presse on Sunday that it had rescued these people with the help of the Greek authorities, according to a spokesperson, Paulina Bakula.
Frontex agents “reported that the migrants were found naked and some of them had visible injuries”she added from Warsaw, the headquarters of the organization, while Athens assures that Ankara forced these people to undress before deporting them to the Greek side of the border.
“Shame on civilization”
Greek Civil Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos accused Turkey “to instrumentalize illegal immigration” but Ankara has denied any involvement in the ill and degrading treatment inflicted on these refugees. Greece must stop “manipulation and dishonesty”according a tweet in English from the Turkish Deputy Interior MinisterIsmail Catakli.
Most of these refugees, Syrians and Afghans, “described to Frontex agents that three Turkish army vehicles had transferred them to Evros”, assured Takis Theodorikakos in an interview with the private television channel Skai. Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi on Saturday called the incident a “Shame on Civilization”.
Athens is regularly singled out by NGOs and various journalistic investigations for illegal and violent pushbacks carried out at its maritime and land borders with Turkey. But it has always denied resorting to this practice, which is contrary to international law. At the end of September, speaking at the United Nations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of transforming the Aegean Sea into “cemetery” with “his oppressive policies”.
Reacting to the incident on Sunday, the NGO Mare Liberum said that “in the Evros region, crimes against human rights are systematic and committed on a daily basis by Turkey and Greece”. “When these crimes are discussed publicly by members of governments, it only serves to fuel the conflict between Greece and Turkey,” continues the NGO.