The Greek migration minister accused Turkey of sending people across the border. Turkey denies the allegations.
Turkey has denied claims by Greek ministries that 92 naked migrants were driven across the shared border with Greece. “Spend your time respecting human rights, non-manipulation and dishonesty!” tweeted Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli on Saturday night.
Several Greek ministries reported Saturday that the migrants were caught naked in the river Evros, on the border with northeast Greece. According to the Ministry of Citizen Protection, the incident happened on Friday.
shame of civilization
Staff from the EU’s border protection agency Frontex were said to be at the scene on the Greek side of the border. However, Frontex did not initially confirm the facts. A photo of naked men circulated in a tweet by Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis on Saturday, claiming to prove the incident. The minister accused Turkey of sending people across the border. Turkey’s behavior towards the 92 migrants rescued by Greek border guards on Evros is a disgrace to civilization. Ankara is expected to investigate the incident, Mitarakis wrote.
The Greek Ministry of Citizen Protection also confirmed the incident. Thus, police from the Greek border guards 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 authorities that they were transported to the river in three vehicles owned by Turkish authorities and put on rubber boats to cross to Greece. Some of the people reportedly suffered injuries, according to a Greek police statement. The migrants were dressed and cared for.
Athens wants to almost completely close the Evros River border in the northeast of the country due to an increase in the number of illegal border crossings from Turkey. The 35 kilometers of existing border fence along the river are being extended by 80 kilometers. Not only on Evros, but also in the eastern Aegean Sea, Greek border guards have recently recorded a significant increase in the number of refugees.
(APA)