Published : 10-05-2020
The Greek authorities have intercepted migrant boats at sea and
pushed them back to Turkey.
Human rights activists said several migrants sailing from Aegean coast have
been forced back to Turkey by Greek police.
The activists slammed the Greek authorities for violating European Union
treaties and human rights conventions.
Over recent years, activists have held the Greek authorities responsible for the
mounting tension in overcrowded migrant facilities, saying refugees have been
psychologically distressed due to the substandard living conditions they have
been made to endure in reception centers and the absence of life-saving
healthcare services at a time when reports of coronavirus cases have soared.
The migrants, including hundreds of Palestinian refugees, have been subjected
to dire conditions on the island and deprived of their basic human rights,
including access to water, power, and relief services.
Recently, human rights groups have warned that Greek police have been using
tear gas, water cannon, and stun grenades to push back the border crossers.
Greek authorities have made no secret of their resolve and even their use of
aggressive tactics to block illegal crossings. But the government in Athens is
denying accusations of deadly attacks on migrants.
In a March 17 report last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Greek security
forces and unidentified armed men at the Greece-Turkey land border have
detained, assaulted, sexually assaulted, robbed, and stripped asylum seekers and migrants, then forced them back to Turkey.
Between March 7 and 9, Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 asylum seekers
and migrants, 17 of whom were men and 4 women, in Turkey about how they
tried to enter Greece over the land border following the Turkish government’s February 27 announcement that it would no longer stop asylum seekers and migrants from leaving Turkey to reach the European Union.
All those interviewed said that within hours after they crossed in boats or waded
through the river, armed men wearing various law enforcement uniforms or in
civilian clothes, including all in black with balaclavas, intercepted everyone in
their group. All said the men detained them in official or informal detention
centers, or on the roadside, and stole their money, mobile phones, and bags
before summarily pushing them back to Turkey.
Seventeen interviewees also described how the men assaulted them and others,
including women and children, through electric shocks, beating with wooden or
metal rods, prolonged beating of the soles of feet, punching, kicking, and
stomping.
The Greek authorities have intercepted migrant boats at sea and
pushed them back to Turkey.
Human rights activists said several migrants sailing from Aegean coast have
been forced back to Turkey by Greek police.
The activists slammed the Greek authorities for violating European Union
treaties and human rights conventions.
Over recent years, activists have held the Greek authorities responsible for the
mounting tension in overcrowded migrant facilities, saying refugees have been
psychologically distressed due to the substandard living conditions they have
been made to endure in reception centers and the absence of life-saving
healthcare services at a time when reports of coronavirus cases have soared.
The migrants, including hundreds of Palestinian refugees, have been subjected
to dire conditions on the island and deprived of their basic human rights,
including access to water, power, and relief services.
Recently, human rights groups have warned that Greek police have been using
tear gas, water cannon, and stun grenades to push back the border crossers.
Greek authorities have made no secret of their resolve and even their use of
aggressive tactics to block illegal crossings. But the government in Athens is
denying accusations of deadly attacks on migrants.
In a March 17 report last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Greek security
forces and unidentified armed men at the Greece-Turkey land border have
detained, assaulted, sexually assaulted, robbed, and stripped asylum seekers and migrants, then forced them back to Turkey.
Between March 7 and 9, Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 asylum seekers
and migrants, 17 of whom were men and 4 women, in Turkey about how they
tried to enter Greece over the land border following the Turkish government’s February 27 announcement that it would no longer stop asylum seekers and migrants from leaving Turkey to reach the European Union.
All those interviewed said that within hours after they crossed in boats or waded
through the river, armed men wearing various law enforcement uniforms or in
civilian clothes, including all in black with balaclavas, intercepted everyone in
their group. All said the men detained them in official or informal detention
centers, or on the roadside, and stole their money, mobile phones, and bags
before summarily pushing them back to Turkey.
Seventeen interviewees also described how the men assaulted them and others,
including women and children, through electric shocks, beating with wooden or
metal rods, prolonged beating of the soles of feet, punching, kicking, and
stomping.
