Greece illegally deported 60,000 migrants to Turkey, documents released by Turkey reportedly show. The process involves returning asylum seekers without assessing their status.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Tzortzinis
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Greece illegally deported about 60,000 migrants to Turkey between 2017 and 2018, according to a report on the online news portal of weekly German magazine Spiegel, published on Wednesday evening.
Turkey is accusing Greece of not properly dealing with the asylum status of migrants. Instead, Turkish Interior Ministry files claim that Greece illegally transported 58,283 people to Turkey in the 12 month period leading up to November 1, 2018.
Greece is disputing the accusations, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsokasis saying Ankara was playing games: "Those people who have used the refugee crisis to their own ends should be more careful when dealing with Greece."
A Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman told German news agency dpa that Athens had denied similar accusations "many times" already.
This so-called "push back" of asylum seekers is illegal under European and international law. The state is obliged to assess the asylum status of new migrants rather than sending them to another country.
According to the Turkish documents, the largest proportion of migrants sent away from Greece were Pakistani, with large numbers from Somalia, Algeria and Bangladesh. 4,500 were Syrians.
Turkish officials said they sent back most of the people back to their countries of origin except for the Syrians, who were sent back to the Turkish town where they originally registered as refugees.
The governor of the Turkish-Greek border region of Edirne reported that over 90,000 migrants were arrested between January and September 2019, a big increase from the 30,000 arrested in the same region in 2016.
This year, so far, has seen a huge influx of refugees arriving in Lesbos. Conditions in the Moria camp are steadily becoming worse and refugees are often left to their own devices.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A view from above
Moria refugee camp has a capacity of 3,000. Currently, some 14,500 refugees are squeezed into the infamous refugee camp, Greece's largest reception and identification center.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Deep wounds
A large majority of those who live in Moria have been deemed as vulnerable and are in need of immediate medical assistance. This girl from Gaza, who lives with her family in a tent in the olive grove outside Moria, was severely injured when an Israeli rocket hit her home.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A false dawn?
In August more than 2,800 people arrived in dinghies on the island of Lesbos. A boat carrying 40 people was brought into the port of Skala Sikamineas after it was intercepted by Frontex, the EU's border agency. Eight women and 18 children, including five unaccompanied minors, were on board along with 14 men, all from Afghanistan.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
The wait begins
After the women and children have been transferred to a transit camp, 18 men wait to be taken away to the same camp by the authorities. Volunteers with the NGO Lighthouse relief assist the authorities in providing food and water to those who have recently arrived.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Keeping the tradition alive
An Afghan woman makes bread in a makeshift underground oven which she then sells for €1 ($1.10) to other refugees. Due to deteriorating conditions and food provisions that are below standard quality many refugees who remain for long in the camp of Moria have found new ways to pass the day and remember home.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
A soothing hand
Countless refugees need urgent medical attention. Doctors without Borders operate an emergency clinic opposite Moria for the most urgent cases, as the main camp currently only has one doctor and the hospital of Mytilene is overwhelmed and in some cases unwilling to treat refugees.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Discarded dreams
A "graveyard" of life jackets and boats on the island's north is a stark reminder of the last huge influx of refugees in 2015/16. Lesbos has been at the center of the refugee crisis for years as thousands of people have landed on its shores. Currently there are more than 11,000 refugees spread across the islands. That number is expected to rise sharply by the end of the year.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
Monotonous routine
Waiting in line has become the main daily activity for those stuck in Moria limbo — even for children. Some wait for hours in order to receive food and water.
Image: DW/D. Tosidis
From the frying pan into the fire
A group of refugees prepares to board a ship which will take them to mainland Greece. After the sudden arrival of 600 people in one night, the Greek government decided to transfer 1,400 people to the mainland. Most were taken to the camp of Nea Kavala in a remote village in northern Greece.
