Turkey captures 1,029 migrants in one day

ANKARA – Cihan News Agency

AFP Photo

Turkey captured 1,029 migrants, many of whom were found crossing the country’s borders illegally, including 406 people who attempted to cross into Turkey from Syria, on May 5.

The captured migrants also included three people who crossed into Turkey illegally via Iraq and 113 people who entered illegally via its border with Iran, according to data given by the Turkish General Staff.

In addition, 59 migrants were captured as they attempted to cross into Greece from Turkey, while the Turkish Coast Guard also captured 192 migrants on boats heading to European countries. Meanwhile, 203 foreigners were captured domestically for not having the proper immigration paperwork.

Coast Guard teams rescued 303 migrants in operations launched in the western Aegean Sea region between April 27 and 30, local officials said. Four people, including a Turkish citizen and two Georgian nationals, who were found aiding the illegal migrants have been detained, the İzmir Governor’s Office said in a statement.

Among the migrants, 148 were of Syrian origin and 98 were of Afghan origin, the statement said.

On April 30, four Turkish nationals were sentenced to 30 years each in prison for the deaths of 24 migrants when a boat sank in July 2013 in the Aegean Sea.

A court in the northwestern province of Çanakkale sentenced the boat’s owner, Veysel Bozbaş, to seven years and six months in jail for human trafficking, along with Captain Ramazan Dova and his two assistants.

The guilty men were also given 22 years and six months on charges of causing multiple deaths with conscious negligence.

The vessel sank 10 miles off the coast of Tavaklı village while in international waters. Twenty-four people died in the incident, while the Coast Guard rescued 12 others.