(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 […]
(AFP) Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Greek authorities of the “torture, ill-treatment and illegal pushbacks” of refugees and migrants to Turkey, arguing that the practice had become “de facto” border policy. In a new report, the rights group described 21 incidents it […]
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(AFP) A Greek court on Saturday sentenced four Afghan asylum seekers convicted of starting fires that burnt down Europe’s largest migrant camp last year to 10 years in prison each. The court in Chios found the defendants guilty of arson while their […]
(AFP) Four young Afghan asylum-seekers went on trial in Greece on Friday accused of starting the devastating fires that burnt down Europe’s largest migrant camp last year. The Moria camp on the Aegean island of Lesbos was home to more than 10,000 […]
(AFP) As the sun dips into the wetlands of northeastern Evros, Greece’s river border with Turkey, two Greek guards climb into a boat to begin their daily lookout for irregular migrants. Siren blaring, and with flamingos flying overhead, the guards sail past […]
(AP) Almost 9 months after a fire gutted a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, work on a new reception center has still not begun despite pledges to have the facility built before next winter, Greece’s migration minister confirmed Wednesday. […]
(AP) Greece on Monday designated neighboring Turkey as a safe country in which to seek international protection for the majority of asylum-seekers departing its shores for Greece. A joint decree from the Greek foreign and migration ministries said the designation applies to […]
(AP) The European Union expressed concern Thursday about Greece’s use of a sound cannon to scare migrants away from its borders, raising questions over whether the device contravenes the 27-nation bloc’s laws on fundamental rights. The Associated Press reported on Monday that […]
(AP) As the world begins to travel again, Europe is sending migrants a loud message: Stay away! Greek border police are firing bursts of deafening noise from an armored truck over the frontier into Turkey. Mounted on the vehicle, the long-range acoustic […]
(Kathimerini) Greece’s foreign ministry reacted strongly Sunday to repeated statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu referring to a “Turkish minority” during his Sunday visit to Thrace by accusing him of repeatedly distorting reality. Cavusoglu, who has arrived in Athens, visited earlier […]
(Anadolu) Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday met with representatives of the Muslim Turkish minority in the Western Thrace region of Greece. Arriving in Greece on a two-day visit, Cavusoglu was welcomed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, Turkey’s Ambassador to […]
(AP) Human rights lawyers said Tuesday that they have launched legal action against the European Union’s border and coast guard agency at the bloc’s top court, accusing Frontex of violating the rights of people trying to seek asylum and other breaches of […]
(AP) Greece’s prime minister says Europe should be “very, very strict” when dealing with countries that he said are seeking to use migrants and refugees as a means of pressuring the European Union. Speaking Friday during a meeting in Athens with the […]
(Kathimerini) Turkey must resume the return of irregular migrants from Greece “without delay,” the European Commission’s enlargement chief, Oliver Varhelyi, said on Tuesday. “It is important for Turkey to resume returns of irregular migrants from Greece to Turkey without delay, and avoid […]
(Kathimerini) The two incidents of aggressive behavior by Turkish vessels against Frontex boats in the eastern Aegean on April 26 and 27 will be discussed at Friday’s extraordinary meeting of the European border agency’s board of directors. As Kathimerini revealed this week, […]
(Kathimerini) Greek Foreign Ministry sources on Wednesday dismissed the accusations of a Turkish government official who claimed that the country is violating the rights of its large Muslim minority, saying the community is “flourishing.” The comment came after visiting Turkish Deputy Foreign […]
(Kathimerini) Turkey has once again accused Greece of violating the rights of its Muslim minority based in the north of the country. After a visit to the port city of Thessaloniki and the northern province of Thrace during which he met with […]
(Anadolu) A senior Turkish diplomat on Wednesday visited Thessaloniki, a multiethnic Greek city with deep significance for both Ottoman and Turkish history. Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran was met at the city’s airport by Turkey’s Ambassador to Athens Burak Ozugergin and […]
(Kathimerini) “Very serious” incidents that violated international regulations reportedly took place on April 26 and 27 involving vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex. Kathimerini understands that the incidents occurred off the eastern Aegean […]
(AP) An independent investigation in Greece says authorities have failed to adequately respond to multiple allegations of summary deportations of migrants at the Greek-Turkish border. In a report released Thursday, the Greek ombudsman called on the government to respond to detailed allegations […]
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(Anadolu) Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday condemned the latest move by Greece on appointing the chief mufti and Athens’ treatment of Turkish descendants in Western Thrace. “Under Treaty of Lausanne, Greece has no right to appoint the chief mufti for […]
(Anadolu) Comments by Greece’s foreign minister regarding the identity of the Muslim Turkish minority in Western Thrace during a visit to Ankara drew strong reactions from the group’s minority institutions and organizations. “It is unacceptable to us that our Foreign Minister Mr. […]
(Anadolu) Athens has “no right” to appoint the chief Islamic cleric, or mufti, of Muslims living in Greece according to the Treaty of Lausanne, Turkey’s president said on Friday. “How can you do that? We don’t appoint the patriarch,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan […]
(Kathimerini) As Greek authorities continue efforts to ease pressure on overcrowded migrant camps on the Aegean islands, 115 refugees [who] have been granted asylum were due to leave Lesvos on Tuesday for the mainland. The Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported that 500 refugees […]
(Reuters) The head of the European Commission said it will make a proposal to Turkey to ensure the flow of funding for refugees that the country hosts, adding that Ankara must however respect human rights and the rule of law. Ursula von […]
(AP) Greece is reporting a series of brushes with Turkey’s coast guard in the narrow stretch of water between the eastern Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, at a time of generally testy relations between the two neighbors and NATO […]
(Kathimerini) The US State Department’s annual report on human rights violations around the world published on Tuesday has criticized Greece over unsafe and unhealthy conditions for migrants and asylum-seekers detained in pre-removal facilities or residing at the country’s six reception and identification […]
(AFP) On the Greek island of Lesbos, the notorious camp of Moria still casts a long shadow, more than six months after it went up in flames. And after six years of being on the frontline of migratory pressure from nearby Turkey, […]
(Kathimerini) Legal procedures have been launched for the extradition to Belgium of three Iraqi nationals who were arrested in Athens last week on European arrest warrants. All three are accused of participating in a ring based in Belgium that trafficked migrants and […]
(Kathimerini) Ankara accused Athens on Tuesday of violating the rights of its Muslim minority, which it calls “Turkish,” and of pursuing policies against Turkey, saying Athens should instead “abide by international law.” In a statement issued after a three-hour meeting of Turkey’s […]
(AP) The European Union’s home affairs commissioner was meeting Tuesday with Greece’s prime minister and foreign minister, a day after touring two of the eastern islands in the Aegean Sea most heavily affected by migration into Europe. The EU is currently working […]
(AFP) The European Union said on Monday that Turkey must “urgently” resume accepting migrants from Greece, where thousands are being held in camps, days before EU chiefs are to visit Ankara. Greece, which has also been seeking support from EU allies in […]
(Reuters) Greece “can do more” to investigate reports it has pushed asylum-seekers back to Turkey, a senior European Union official said on Monday, as Greek authorities pledged a new migrant reception centre on the island of Lesbos would open in time for […]
(AP) The interior ministers of the five Mediterranean countries on the front line of mass migration to Europe want their EU partners to share the burden more equitably. “We can no longer be punished for our geographical position,” Malta’s Byron Camilleri said […]
(AP) The interior ministers of the five Mediterranean countries on the front line of mass migration to Europe are meeting in Greece to discuss the European Union’s policies as the bloc works toward a new migration pact. Ministers from Italy, Spain, Malta, […]
(AP) Five years after it was signed, the widely-criticized deal between the European Union and Turkey aimed at preventing migrants from entering Greece no longer works, but the Europeans insist it has served them well and will do so again. Not only […]
(Anadolu) Five years since signing a landmark migration agreement with the EU grappling with successive waves of asylum seekers fleeing conflict and persecution, Turkey now seeks to revise the deal, arguing that the bloc has failed to keep its promises. The deal […]
(AP) The European Union’s top migration official expressed concern Friday about a spike in the number of shooting incidents on the Turkish side of the country’s land border with Greece near where EU border officers have been patrolling. At least 3 incidents […]
(AFP) A Greek court has jailed two Afghan youths for five years for starting a fire that burnt down Europe’s largest migrant camp last year on the island of Lesbos, lawyers said on Wednesday. The Lesbos court handed down the sentences late […]
(Kathimerini) European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas on Friday briefed the committees on European affairs and public administration in the Greek Parliament on the EU’s continuing talks over the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, responding to criticism and concerns from all sides. […]
(Kathimerini) The Norwegian Embassy confirmed in a statement on Thursday that 35 asylum seekers left Athens for Oslo on Wednesday in the context of protecting vulnerable groups and supporting Greece. The 35 comprise seven families from Syria who are applying for asylum […]
(AP) An inquiry into claims that the European Union’s border and coast guard agency was involved in illegally pushing back migrants has found no link to Frontex in any of the incidents but has been unable to establish what happened in five […]
(Anadolu) Turkey’s president on Monday criticized the EU’s double standard of supporting Greece on the issue of migrants but not sharing responsibility for 4 million refugees hosted by Turkey. “While the EU gives Greece €3 billion [$3.65 billion] for 100,000 refugees, it […]
(Kathimerini) A total of 116 refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, including 30 families with children, departed from the island of Lesvos on a charter flight to Hannover in Germany on Wednesday morning. It was the first direct flight from an Aegean […]
(AFP) There was an “unprecedented escalation” of human rights violations against migrants in the Aegean Sea last year, a campaign group said Friday, accusing Greece and the EU’s border patrol agency Frontex of being behind a soaring number of illegal returns to […]
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