Greece and Turkey are at odds over 92 ‘naked’ migrants
The Evros River separates Greece from Turkey and is therefore repeatedly used by refugees to get to Europe
Source: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa
The Turkish Interior Ministry has rejected reports that 92 migrants were apprehended at the border river Evros. According to Greek authorities, the people wore no clothes and had no luggage with them. Turkey denies expulsion.
AAccording to Greek ministries, border guards picked up 92 naked migrants who were said to have been driven from Turkey across the border to Greece in the Evros border river in northeastern Greece. Turkey denied the allegations. “Spend your time respecting human rights, not manipulation and dishonesty!” Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli tweeted on Saturday night.
According to the Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection, the incident happened on Friday. Officials from the EU border protection agency Frontex are said to have been on site on the Greek side of the border. However, Frontex initially gave no confirmation of the facts.
A photo of naked men was circulated in a tweet by Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis on Saturday, claiming to prove the incident. The minister accused Turkey of sending the people across the border. Turkey’s behavior towards the 92 migrants rescued by Greek border guards on the Evros is a disgrace to civilisation. Ankara is expected to investigate the incident, Mitarakis wrote.
Turkey’s Deputy Interior Minister Catakli tweeted that Greece had chosen an image “of its own cruelty” and was pretending it was Turkey’s work.
The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection also confirmed the incident. Accordingly, police officers from the Greek border guard rescued the people “in cooperation with Frontex”. The migrants were naked and had no luggage with them, it said in a statement on Saturday. Some of the migrants told Greek officials that they were transported to the river in three vehicles owned by the Turkish authorities and placed in rubber boats to cross to Greece.
Some of the people are said to have suffered injuries, according to a statement from the Greek police. The migrants were clothed and cared for.
Athens wants to almost completely seal off the border on the Evros River in the north-east of the country because of the increased number of illegal border crossings from Turkey. The existing 35 kilometers of border fence along the river are currently being extended by 80 kilometers. Not only on the Evros, but also in the eastern Aegean, Greek border guards had recently recorded a significant increase in the number of refugees.