(Kathimerini) An estimated 11,900 refugees and migrants crammed onto 120 yachts or sailboats are believed to have made it from Turkey to Italy via Greece this year, as the method has been gaining popularity among migrant smuggling rackets on the other side […]
(Kathimerini) A 40-year-old Iraqi man was remanded in prison on Monday after he testified before a prosecutor about his alleged involvement in the ISIS terrorist organization. The man was arrested by counterterror officers in central Athens last week on suspicion of involvement […]
(AP) Three people have been charged with murder in Greece following the death of 16 migrants who were killed when a boat transporting them from Turkey to Italy capsized, authorities said Monday. The suspects were among 63 people rescued following the tragedy […]
(AFP) Greek coast guards scoured for survivors in the Aegean Sea on Saturday after the latest in a series of migrant boat accidents that have killed at least 30 people in just days. Late Friday, the coastguard found 16 bodies, including those […]
(Kathimerini) Greek intelligence and counterterror authorities had been keeping a close eye on a 39-year-old Iraqi suspected of large-scale migrant smuggling before the official launch of the operation against him earlier this month, Kathimerini has learned. According to court records, Thakir M. […]
(AFP) Greek counter-terrorism authorities have arrested a 40-year-old Iraqi man on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State group (IS), police said Thursday. The man arrived in Greece from Syria, a police official told AFP, adding that he will appear before a […]
(Kathimerini) The government will expand the border fence with Turkey in the country’s northeast by 26km, Civil Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos told MPs on Friday. Addressing the Parliamentary Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affair[s], he said in addition to repairing the […]
(Kathimerini) A 39-year-old Iraqi who was arrested in central Athens on Tuesday on migrant trafficking charges is on a list of Islamic terrorism suspects, state officials have confirmed to Kathimerini. Mohammed T. was arrested with an Egyptian, nicknamed “Abu George,” in an […]
(AFP) Pope Francis on Saturday blamed the EU’s nationalist divisions for a lack of coordination on migration as he began a landmark trip to Greece, aiming to improve complicated relations with the country’s Orthodox Church. Francis said that Europe was “torn by […]
(AFP) The European Union should be prepared for more migrant crises like the ones on the Greece-Turkey and Poland-Belarus borders, the head of the EU’s border agency told AFP in an interview. Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri also said the agency was working […]
(AP) Greece accused Turkey on Tuesday of acting like a “pirate” in waters between the two regional rivals, claiming that its coast guard escorted and tried to push into Greek waters a boat of migrants who were trying to illegally reach Greece. […]
(AP) Police in North Macedonia say they have discovered 42 migrants in a truck in the southeastern part of the country near the border with Greece. A police patrol car followed the truck Saturday near the town of Star Dojran, 160 kilometers […]
(Kathimerini) Police in Athens have arrested three men accused of being part of a racket that helped undocumented migrants fly to other parts of the European Union for a fee ranging from €4,500 to €6,000 per person. Police said Saturday the suspects […]
(Kathimerini) The government wants to extend the fence on the Greek-Turkish border in Evros, recent diplomatic initiatives by Greek officials in Brussels have demonstrated. Kathimerini understands that Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis sent a letter to the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva […]
(Kathimerini) The investigation into the case of the 34-year-old Iraqi man arrested on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State last month … has been stepped up as he has named other individuals who were involved in ISIS and who […]
(JTA) The highest court in Greece has ruled against allowing ritual slaughter, fulfilling fears that some Jewish leaders voiced last year after the European Union’s top court ruled in support of such bans. Last December, the EU’s highest court upheld the bans […]
(AFP) Pakistani asylum seeker Mohamed Bilal was 15 when he arrived in Greece. Five years later, he’s lost all hope and is on the road again, desperate for a better life elsewhere. Since the conservative government took office in 2019, Greece has […]
(Kathimerini) French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has praised the “Greek model” of migration control and vowed France’s support in bolstering border security when it assumes the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency on January 1. “We ask other southern EU countries to do […]
(AP) Greece will increase the number of border guards on the country’s border with Turkey, fearing a spike in illegal migration linked to the crisis in Afghanistan, officials said Monday. An additional 250 officers will join the 1,500-strong border force over several […]
(Anadolu) A court in northern Greece has postponed the trial of a religious leader of the country’s Muslim Turkish minority elected in defiance of Greek authorities who have sought to appoint the holder of [the] post. Ibrahim Serif, the elected mufti of […]
(Reuters) The European Union’s executive called for an investigation on Thursday into illegal migrant pushbacks after a report by German media outlets Der Spiegel and ARD documented what they said were Greek and Croatian officials carrying out such operations. The joint report […]
(Kathimerini) An Iraqi asylum-seeker who was arrested in Athens on Monday on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State terror group is to be formally charged by a prosecutor on Tuesday. The 34-year-old was taken into custody in his home […]
(AP) Greek counterterrorism police on Monday arrested an asylum-seeker in central Athens who is suspected of membership in the Islamic State group, authorities said. A police statement said the 34-year-old man’s arrest followed cooperation with Greece’s EYP intelligence agency and information provided […]
(Reuters) Greece will not allow a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis to unfold on its borders following the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday after visiting a new migrant camp on an island near Turkey. The […]
(AP) Greece’s prime minister says he is “unapologetic about defending” Greece’s borders in the face of uncontrolled migration attempts, but insists his country is doing so in a manner that respects human rights. Greece has come under strong criticism from rights groups, […]
(Kathimerini) The Council of Appeals judges in Thessaloniki on Wednesday approved the extradition of a Moroccan man to his country, where he is wanted on terrorism charges. The man, aged 28, had been sought on an international warrant issued by Moroccan authorities […]
(AFP) A major fire that broke out Sunday evening at the Vathy migrant camp on the Greek island of Samos was brought under control, the Greek Ministry of Migration said. “There is no danger for those who are still there because the […]
(Politico) Fifteen minutes outside the town of Vathy stands a just-completed compound, surrounded by a double barbed-wire fence. The entrance, only open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., is equipped with turnstiles, magnetic gates and X-ray machines. Guards check both ID cards […]
(Reuters) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday Turkey was an important partner in tackling any new migration challenge to Europe and needed support, and that Europe itself has not delivered on a common policy in addressing the migrant issue. More […]
(AFP) In a tented courtyard in the migrant camp on Greece’s Leros island, a dozen new arrivals await registration after two weeks in Covid-19 quarantine. “You can submit a claim for asylum, but only in Greece,” a young Greek official tells them […]
(AP) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has promised to “break and smash” the human trafficking networks that smuggle migrants across the border from Turkey. Mitsotakis, in a news conference Sunday following his Saturday keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, also said, […]
(Politico) In Greece, officials are swiftly erecting patrol units and surveillance systems to intercept any Afghans crossing into the EU — and they say the EU should help foot the bill. Officials back in Brussels have refused, insisting any payments must be […]
(AFP) One year after fire ripped through the notorious Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, the authorities say they’ve tackled the critical overcrowding and brought order to the chaos. Critics counter they achieved this through a policy of forcibly […]
(Anadolu) Greece must put an end to its interventionist practices and policies of pressure against Muslim religious leaders elected by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Saturday. Mevlut Cavusoglu’s statement came on Twitter after Ibrahim Serif, the […]
(Kathimerini) Europe’s top human rights watchdog has lambasted Greece’s new bill aiming to regulate the deportations and returns of migrants, saying it poses serious restrictions on the activities of NGOs trying to save lives in the Aegean. “The Greek parliament should reconsider […]
(Kathimerini) The creators of the giant puppet Little Amal, which is on a 5,000-mile journey from Turkey to Britain to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees and the stories of the millions of youngsters traveling alone, cancelled the procession of the figure […]
(Kathimerini) Police were required to intervene in Larissa on Tuesday after a small group of protesters reacted angrily to the procession of a giant puppet depicting a nine-year-old refugee girl through the Thessalian capital. Little Amal is traveling 8,000 kilometers from the […]
(AP) The European Union should assist Afghans in Afghanistan and in neighboring countries to avoid a new migration wave, Turkey’s president told Greece’s prime minister in a telephone call Friday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed developments in Afghanistan in […]
(Kathimerini) Preparing for the possibility of migration pressure from Turkey in the coming weeks due to the developments in Afghanistan, law enforcement authorities, the coast guard and the armed forces are drafting plans to police and shield the Evros land border and […]
(Reuters) Greece does not want to become the entry point into the European Union for Afghans fleeing the escalating conflict in their homeland, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Tuesday, calling for a common EU response to the crisis. Greece was on […]
(Reuters) The EU’s border agency is trialling new high-tech surveillance equipment to detect migrant boats, just as rapid gains by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have raised the prospect of a surge in people fleeing to Europe. A balloon system equipped with cameras […]
(Reuters) Six EU member states have warned the bloc’s executive against halting deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers arriving in Europe despite major advances of Taliban militants in their country. The Taliban, fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster, […]
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(Kathimerini) The Greek Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a terse response to allegations from Turkey regarding the closure of 12 minority primary schools in the northeastern province of Thrace, which Ankara claims is a violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne provisions […]
(Anadolu) In a violation of longstanding treaties, Greece on Monday decided to close 12 more schools serving the country’s Muslim Turkish minority, claiming there are too few students. Under an Education Ministry decree, eight schools in Rhodope (Rodop) and four schools in […]
(AP) A 28-year-old Moroccan man appeared in a court in the Greek city of Thessaloniki on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing after being arrested on suspicion of being a member of the Islamic State group. The man, who was not identified publicly, […]
(Kathimerini) A survey by the United Nations Refugee Agency among migrants and refugees residing at camps on the Aegean islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, Leros, Rhodes and Tilos shows that nearly half (49%) come from Afghanistan, followed by Syria (14%), Somalia […]
(Kathimerini) Police on the northern Aegean island of Lesvos said they have exposed a migrant trafficking ring that is also engaged in “espionage.” The ring allegedly comprises ten non-nationals, including four members of a non-governmental organization, namely a Norwegian, an American and […]
(AFP) Tchinda said the longed-for destination of his risky Aegean crossing — the island of Kos — was already tantalisingly in view when Greek vessels halted the boat he was sailing in along with 30 other migrants. “First a navy ship blocked […]
(AP) Three suspects have been arrested in Greece on migrant smuggling charges after a speedboat bound for Italy was intercepted by the coast guard, authorities said on Friday. The coast guard said the boat transporting seven migrants was stopped Thursday in the […]
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