The UN refugee agency UNHCR says it has observed "several hundred cases" of suspected pushbacks in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of last year. It is stepping up pressure on Greece to investigate the reports.
A 25-year-old Afghan man, father to a five-year-old child who died in November in an attempt to reach the Greek island of Samos from Turkey by boat, has spoken out about being charged with endangering his son's life by the Greek authorities and why he is bringing a counter-case against the Greek coast guard.
It’s been five years since the EU announced a migration deal with Turkey that many NGOs have said amounts to the bloc outsourcing its migration management.
Turkish authorities have reportedly found 55 migrants from neighboring Iraq in two shipping containers at a port in the Turkish Izmir province. The state news agency Anadolu said the destination was Italy.
In 2020, a global health pandemic, economic problems and even more people displaced than before were just some of the challenges we all faced. But there were some positives too, including these stories of sporting achievement.
The European Union has paid the final instalment of a €6 billion fund to Turkey as part of a deal on hosting refugees. The 2016 agreement has led to standoffs, as Turkey claimed that it had not received all the money promised.
The Greek government says recent arrivals of Somali migrants may have been coordinated by Turkish authorities. The Greek migration minister said the Somalis were being helped to obtain visas to enter Turkey legally and then continue on to Greece.
An investigation by a number of European media organizations has found that Frontex, Europe's border security agency, has been involved in several illegal "pushbacks" of asylum seekers crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.
The allegations against the Greek coast guard come as Greece accuses Turkey of aiding human traffickers move migrants and refugees to Greece.
A vessel with 74 migrants and two people smugglers on board has reached the port of Katakolo in western Greece after sending distress signals over the weekend. Two Turkish nationals on board the yacht have been detained.
Greece's migration minister rejected claims on Monday saying that the Greek government was involved in illegally pushing back migrants and refugees at sea. Notis Mitarachi said that false reports about pushbacks were being spread by people smugglers, as changes to Greece’s border policies was damaging their business.
German soldiers have filed reports saying that they had repeatedly observed migrant boats in the Mediterranean being pushed back into Turkish waters. The German dpa news agency said it had information chronicling at least three such instances in June 2020 alone.