92 migrants found naked as Greece and Turkey trade blame and U.N. condemns "cruel and degrading" treatment
Greek authorities rescued a group of 92 migrants who were found naked along the country's northern border with Turkey over the weekend, officials said. Some of the people were injured, and the United Nations condemned their treatment as "cruel and degrading."
The European Union's border agency Frontex said it had assisted Greek authorities at the Evros River in providing immediate aid to the migrants, who were mainly from Afghanistan and Syria.
Greece's minister for civil protection, Takis Theodorikakos, told local television that some of those rescued said they had been dropped off at the river, which forms part of the border between Greece and Turkey, by three Turkish army vehicles. Theodorikakos accused Turkey of "instrumentalizing illegal immigration," according to the AFP news agency.
Thousands of people from across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, hoping for a better life in Europe, try to cross into Greece from Turkey every year. The Evros has been a frequent crossing point, but in recent months, both countries have accused each other of violently pushing migrants back into the other's territory.
So-called "pushbacks" — when people are forced back into the country they came from without being allowed to claim asylum — are illegal under international law. Both Greece and Turkey have denied previous allegations.
Greece's migration minister Notis Mitarachi posted a photo of the distressed migrants, who were found on Saturday, on Twitter, with their faces obscured, and derided Turkey's treatment of them as a "shame for civilization."
Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, refuted Mitarachi's allegations and said Greece should abandon its own harsh treatment of refugees.
Greek authorities have reported a recent increase in attempts by migrants to cross over from Turkey, according to the Reuters news agency. Greece has urged Turkey to respect a 2016 deal with the EU, under which Ankara agreed to manage the number of migrants entering Europe in exchange for billions of dollars in aid.
