A “world” and “Lighthouse Reports” survey, “Der Spiegel”, “Ard Report Munchen” and “The Guardian” shows that the Greek police use migrants to send new arrivals to Turkey.
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In the village of Neo Cheimonio, located ten minutes from the Evros river which separates Greece and Turkey, refugee repressions, a practice contrary to international law, are a secret of police. At rush hour, at the cafe, the inhabitants, the fifties well passed, evoke the resumption of migratory flows. “Every day, we prevent the illegal entry of 900 people,” said Greek civil protection minister Takis Theodorikakos, explaining the increase in migratory pressure exerted by Ankara.
“But we do not see migrants. They are locked up, except those who work for the police,” says a retiree. His acolyte adds: “They live in the containers of the police station and can come and go. You meet them at the river, where they work, or at night when they go shopping.” These new “recruits” of the Greek police replaced the farmers and fishermen who crossed the road, a few years ago, to those whom they named “the illegals”.
“slaves” of the Greek police
According to NGOs Human Rights Watch or Josoor, this trend has often returned since 2020 in the testimonies of the victims of “Pushbacks” [illegal repressions of migrants]. Following tensions on the border in March 2020, when Ankara had threatened to let thousands of migrants pass in Europe, the Greek authorities would have intensified the use of this practice to prevent their troops from approaching Turkish territory too dangerously , confirm three police officers posted on the border. This forced work of migrants “benefits from political support. No police officer would act alone,” adds a rank.
Athens has always denied having recourse to illegal refugee repressions. Contacted by Le Monde and its partners, the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection did not follow up on our requests.
In recent months, Le Monde and its partners from Lighthouse Reports – Der Spiegel, Ard Report Munchen and The Guardian with the help of a Facebook page “Consolidated Rescue Group” -, were able to interview six migrants who said they had been the “slaves” of the Greek police, forced to carry out secret and violent “pushbacks”. In exchange, these small hands of Greek migration policy have been promised a one -month residence permit allowing them to organize the continuation of their trip to the north of Europe.
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