(Kathimerini) Amid rising acrimony with Turkey, plans are being drafted to deal with the possibility of an attempted mass entry of migrants into Greece at the instigation of Ankara in a repeat of the spring 2020 incident at the Evros land border. […]
(Kathimerini) Police on Rhodes announced on Monday that they arrested four foreigners suspected of involvement in a criminal organization that trafficked migrants to the island. Those arrested come from Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. The group allegedly collected migrants from beaches and transported […]
(Kathimerini) Greece told Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday that there is no provision in the Treaty of Lausanne, a 1923 peace accord which, among other things, forged modern Greece and Turkey’s borders, stating that the muftis of the Muslim minority […]
(Kathimerini) In an operation carried out with help from the European police agency Europol, law enforcement authorities in northern Greece have dismantled what they believe to be a large migrant smuggling ring. According to an announcement released by the Hellenic Police (ELAS) […]
(Kathimerini) Ankara has taken its allegations of human rights violations by Greece to the United Nations, accusing it of pushbacks and refugee and migrant deaths in the Aegean. The Turkish allegations are included in the letter sent by the permanent representative of […]
(Kathimerini) Coast guard[s] on Kos have arrested four people — two Greeks and two non-nationals — on suspicion of smuggling migrants from the Turkish coast to the island for €4,000 a person. The arrests followed the discovery of a speedboat on January […]
(Kathimerini) The municipal council of Orestiada in northeastern Greece is convening Tuesday to discuss controversial plans by the government to expand a migrant reception and identification center on the outskirts of the border village of Fylakio. The plan for the center is […]
(Kathimerini) A growing number of residents on the eastern Aegean island of Chios are opposing the planned creation of a closed camp for migrants. Reactions culminated during Thursday’s public holiday, when several hundred residents gathered at the port to prevent machinery that […]
(Kathimerini) Residents and local officials on the island of Chios have blocked a ship carrying construction machinery for the new planned migrant “closed controlled access center” from docking on Thursday. Residents of the island had also blocked the ship from docking at […]
(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 […]
(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. […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(Kathimerini) Greece will extradite to the Netherlands a 37-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who is wanted for suspected terrorism offences, it was announced Wednesday. The man, who arrived on the island of Samos from Turkey on 4 October 2018, was arrested at a […]
(Kathimerini) Turkey condemned on Monday the comments made by Greece’s top cleric about Islam, describing them as “presumptuous” and noting that they undermine efforts to restart the exploratory bilateral talks on maritime sovereignty which are scheduled to start later in January. “We […]
(Kathimerini) Greece has submitted a request to the European Commission and the EU’s border agency Frontex, for the immediate return of 1,450 migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected, the country’s Migration Ministry announced on Thursday. From the 1,450 individuals that entered […]
(Kathimerini) A Greek court rejected on Wednesday an extradition request by Tajikistan against a 27-year-old national who is wanted on an international arrest warrant for his alleged ties to the ISIS terrorist group. The members of the Board of Appeals in the […]
(Kathimerini) The 27-year-old from Syria who allegedly confessed to police that he was a member of ISIS will appear before an investigative magistrate after asking for a deferral on Monday. He appeared in court on Monday morning wearing a bulletproof vest and […]
(Kathimerini) A 27-year-old Syrian man suspected of being a member of the Islamic State terrorist organization is due to testify to an Athens magistrate Monday, following his arrest in the Greek capital last Thursday. The unnamed suspect entered Greece in March 2018 […]
(Kathimerini) Prompted by the recent attacks in Paris and Nice, Greece and France have agreed to boost intelligence sharing on known or suspected terrorists, Kathimerini understands. According to sources, the two sides will build a task force to monitor suspected extremists from […]
(Kathimerini) An inquiry by Greek authorities refutes claims that Hezbollah has stashes of ammonium nitrate in several European countries including Greece, sources tell Kathimerini. The probe by the National Intelligence Service, the Citizens’ Protection Ministry and the Hellenic Police has not turned […]
(Kathimerini) Authorities on Crete have arrested a suspected member of the Islamic State (ISIS), Kathimerini reports. The suspect, identified as a 27-year-old British national of Jordanian origin, had been banned from entering Greece on the grounds of national security. The ban was […]
(Kathimerini) Greece and Turkey exchanged criticisms over minority rights on Wednesday with Athens saying that it is “paradoxical, if not funny” for Turkey to lecture Greece about the need to respect minority rights. “History will forever be the most objective witness to […]
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