Orçun Ulusoy from Vrije Univeriseit Amsterdam published a research report on readmitted migrants from Greece to Turkey. While many reports and academic papers have been published on the conditions of migrants and refugees in Greece after the unfamous EU-Turkey Deal, little is known about the conditions of the migrants and refuges who were readmitted from Greece to Turkey after the EU-Turkey Statement, he states. With his research paper – which you can read and download under clicking here – he tries to fill this gap. Continue reading Situation of Readmitted Migrants and Refugees from Greece to Turkey under the EU-Turkey Statement
GREECE: THE RULING OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE ON THE ASYLUM PROCEDURE POST EU-TURKEY DEAL
Via AIDA – On 22 September 2017, the Greek Council of State, the highest administrative court of the country, delivered two long-awaited judgments (2347/2017 and 2348/2017). The rulings concern actions for annulment brought against: three Ministerial Decisions regulating the Independent Appeals Committees as second-instance asylum authorities following the 2016 asylum reforms; and Decision 4159/2016 of the Third Independent Appeals Committee of 8 September 2016, upholding the rejection by the Regional Asylum Office of Lesvos of an asylum application of a Syrian national as inadmissible on the basis that Turkey was a “safe third country” in his case. Continue reading GREECE: THE RULING OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE ON THE ASYLUM PROCEDURE POST EU-TURKEY DEAL
German asylum office BAMF rejects most of asylum claims from Turkish nationals
Via Tagesspiegel (from 12.09; Link in German) – While the German government criticizes the deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey and voiced travel warnings for Turkey for German nationals, the asylum office BAMF rejects most of asylum claims from Turkish nationals. From the 8.547 asylum claims coming from Turkish nationals taken this year, 5.040 asylum seekers were rejected as unfounded.
So, according to the German government, Turkey is not safe for German nationals, but they don’t seem to have any problems with deporting Turks to that same country and human rights conditions: A total of 26 Turks were deported to Turkey this year.
Report: Perception of Asylum-Seekers, Migrants and Refugees in Turkey
PS:EUROPE Institute, with the cooperation of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Turkey, has published its latest research report on the perception of asylum-seekers, immigrants and refugees in Turkey and the reasons behind it. Click here to proceed to the report
Greece: 25 migrants rescued, 1 child dies in boat accident
Via AP News – More than 20 migrants or refugees were rescued and one child died Thursday on a Greek island after the boat they set sail in overnight from the nearby Turkish coast either capsized or sank, Greek authorities said.
A vessel from the European border agency Frontex patrolling the area initially picked up six people — one man, two women and three children — it spotted in the sea off the small southeastern island of Kastellorizo in the early hours of Thursday, the Greek coast guard said. The six were transported to land immediately because one of the children, a 9-year-old girl, needed medical attention, but she later died, the coast guard said. Another four of the survivors were hospitalized. Continue reading Greece: 25 migrants rescued, 1 child dies in boat accident
Romania faces a rush of migrant boats as smugglers test new routes to Europe
Via PRI – During World War II, Romania’s Jewish refugees, fleeing extermination in Europe, would pay to cram aboard flimsy boats crossing the Black Sea to the Middle East. In 2017, Romania’s shores have been the recipient of migrant boats traveling the journey in reverse, as a rarely-used smuggler’s passage is reactivated.
The recent boat arrivals have prompted speculation that the Black Sea is opening up as a perilous new corridor into Europe, though such observations may be premature.
Continue reading Romania faces a rush of migrant boats as smugglers test new routes to Europe
AA: “Turkey-Syria border wall to be completed by end of September”
Via Hurriyet Daily News* – The construction of a concrete barrier along hundreds of kilometers of Turkey’s border with Syria is expected to be completed by the end of September, a Turkish official told state-run Anadolu Agency on Sept. 22.
A total of 731 kilometers of the border wall has already been finished, the official told the agency. The remaining 97 km of the wall will be completed by the end of this month, the official added. Continue reading AA: “Turkey-Syria border wall to be completed by end of September”
AA: “Turkey processing citizenship for 50,000 Syrians, interior ministry official says”
State-run Anadolu Ajensi reports that Turkey will grand citizenship to around 50,000 Syrians living in Turkey according to an Interior Ministry official:
Via Hurriyet Daily News – “Speaking in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, Interior Ministry General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs manager Sinan Güner told the agency the process of granting citizenship had already begun. Continue reading AA: “Turkey processing citizenship for 50,000 Syrians, interior ministry official says”
Is a new deadly route being (re-)established in the Black Sea?
Via Bordermonitoring Bulgaria – The escape route from Turkey via the black sea was rarely used in 2013 and 2014 before the so called refugee crisis in Europe reached its peak. Since the recent crackdown on the Aegean Sea route in the last months, more and more people are again trying to travel from Turkey via the Black Sea to reach Bulgaria or Romania. Since the beginning of 2017, already 649 migrants were caught, while they tried to cross via Black Sea. Continue reading Is a new deadly route being (re-)established in the Black Sea?
At least 19 killed after boat carrying migrants sinks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast
Via Hurriyet Daily News – At least 19 people were killed after a fishing boat carrying migrants sank off the northwestern Turkish coast of Kocaeli in the Black Sea early on Sept. 22. An unborn baby is reportedly among those killed migrants in the accident.
Coastguard teams were searching for other migrants who went missing following the capsizing off the Kefken coast, while some 40 migrants have already been rescued from the sea. The incident occurred 64 sea miles off the coast. Continue reading At least 19 killed after boat carrying migrants sinks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast