All posts by harekact

18 including AI Turkey chairman under detention over alleged Gülen links

Via Turkey Purge – At least 18 lawyers including Taner Kılıç, the chairman of Amnesty International Turkey’s board, were detained on Tuesday as part of an investigation into Turkey’s Gülen group.

According to the Hürriyet daily, detainees are accused of using a smartphone application called “ByLock.”
ByLock is considered by Turkish authorities to be the top communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Greece Has Adopted Illegal Border Push-Back For Erdoğan Critics

The Stockholm Center for Freedom reports on several illegal pushbacks at the Greek-Turkish land border, we as well have been reported about. It seems that these pushbacks are becoming a systematic method:

In a breach of European Union (EU) and international laws, Greek government appears to have adopted a policy of push-backs of Turks seeking asylum from repressive regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The new practice has been put into action as of mid-May and involved Greek security forces as well as unidentified and masked gunmen who intercept people near Turkish border and send them to other side by force, violence and threats.

Continue reading Greece Has Adopted Illegal Border Push-Back For Erdoğan Critics

Greece sends Turkish refugees back to Turkey

Via Turkish Minute – A group of people who were detained on Friday by Turkish gendarmes said they were sent back to Turkey after they crossed the river to Greece, TGRT reported on Saturday, the second such recent incident after journalist Murat Çapan, who had been sentenced to 22.5 years for two news stories, and others were returned home by Greece last month. Continue reading Greece sends Turkish refugees back to Turkey

The Hellenic League for Human Rights has received allegations concerning the refoulement of Turkish asylum seekers in Evros

Via Hellenic League for Human Rights – The unofficial refoulement from Greece to Turkey of persons that are possibly entitled to international protection, not only have not been terminated, but on the contrary seem to be conducted in concert with Turkish authorities violating even the notion of the rule of law. A recent eponymous incident shows the true dimensions of this practice

Read the refoulement-report here

71 Syrians stopped trying to reach Greece by sea

Via Ekathimerini – Turkey’s coast guard says it stopped 71 Syrian migrants attempting to reach Greece. The migrants were stopped in a rubber dinghy early Tuesday in Izmir province, on the Aegean sea, as they began their journey to the Greek island of Lesvos.

According to Turkish coast guard statistics, more than 5,000 migrants have been stopped so far this year, a fifth of the total number in 2016.

Former editor of Turkish news magazine arrested trying to flee to Greece

Via Hurriyet Daily News – The editor-in-chief of a now shut-down weekly magazine, who was sentenced to over 22 years in jail on May 22 for “inciting an armed uprising against the Turkish government,” was arrested on May 24 in the northwestern province of Edirne while attempting to flee to neighboring Greece, a security source has said. Continue reading Former editor of Turkish news magazine arrested trying to flee to Greece

Three policemen, university student caught near Bulgarian border while on way to escape Turkey

Via Turkey Purge – Three dismissed police chiefs and a university students were detained near Turkey’s Kapikule border gate with Bulgaria on Wednesday. The four people were detained in a military zone in Turkish part while they were reportedly on their way to escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown to Bulgaria.

According to state-run Anadolu news agency, the detainees had outstanding arrests warrants earlier issued against them over links to the Gulen movement. The government accuses the movement of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and has detained more than 120,000 people in its crackdown since then.