Greece keeps 50 asylum seekers on islet for 11 days

Yorgo Kırbaki - ATHENS

Greece has pushed back some 50 asylum seekers to Türkiye following 11 days of forcefully keeping them isolated on an islet on the Meriç River.

Fifty asylum seekers, including three pregnant women, 12 children and an elderly woman, were pushed back to Türkiye despite the provisional injunction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), according to Human Rights 360 and Greek Council for Refugees, nongovernmental organizations in Greece.

The asylum seekers were left without food and water for 11 days in hot and humid weather, and they were not given any medical assistance, the organizations said in a statement.

It was also pointed out in the statement that they were informed that three asylum seekers lost their lives after they were caught by the Greek security units and taken to the islet.

Greek security units put the refugees, who were gathered on the islet on the Greek side of the Evros River, on boats and took them to the middle of the river, according to Greek daily Efsyn.

“The asylum seekers, then, were forcibly unloaded from the boats to swim towards the Turkish shore of the river,” the daily said.

The main opposition SYRIZA, Coalition of the Radical Left and Progressive Alliance, submitted a parliamentary question regarding the denial of the implementation of the provisional injunction of ECHR and notified about the death of three asylum seekers.