Category Archives: News Digest

HarekAct offers a topical and chronological collection of news on the EU-Turkish border regime under this section. We link to external newspapers and websites and do not hold the copyright.
Views and opinions expressed in the articles published on HarekAct are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of all editorial board members.

Today again six refugees returned to Turkey

Greek Reporter – According to authorities only 6 migrants have been returned to Turkey in the past 24 hours as a part of the EU-Turkey migrant deal that was reached in March stating that migrants who are not granted asylum in Greece can face returning to Turkey.

According to reports by the ANA-MPA, the Greek island of Lesvos has seen an alarming influx of migrants arriving in the last 24 hours, with some 206 reaching the island’s shores from a period of Wednesday to Thursday morning.

Eight refugees sent back to Turkey

Anadolu Agency – Greece has sent eight Syrian refugees to Turkey on Wednesday after they gave up their right to asylum. A special flight was chartered by Frontex and the eight refugees flew by Astra Airlines to Adana, southern Turkey, according to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA).

Trans woman burned and murdered in Istanbul

LGBTI News Turkey – Hande Kader, a trans woman based in Istanbul, disappeared a week ago. Her friends and lover filed a missing person’s announcement. Hande Kader’s burned body was found in Zekeriyaköy. (click here to get to the article)

The horrific news have come in just one week after gay Syrian refugee Muhammed Wisam Sankari was killed in Istanbul as well (see also this Guardian article).

LGBTI activists in Turkey have posted a video on Youtube commenting on the murder of Hande Kader.

On twitter, people can post statements condemning the murder using the hashtag #TransCinayetleriPolitiktir (Trans murders are political).

Push-Backs: Bulgarian-Turkish cooperation leads to more violation of human rights

Bordermonitoring Bulgaria on Push-Backs at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The Turkish prime minister, Binali Yıldırım and Borisov, met and talked about a possible bilateral agreement about “migration“ between Bulgaria and Turkey. At this weekend, another deportation of two men took place: Two suspected “Kurdish activists“ were deported from Bulgaria to Turkey.

Still, hundreds of people tried to cross the border from Turkey to Bulgaria this week. On the 14th of August 2016, the MoI made public that only within 24h they stopped 140 migrants to cross from Turkey and 13 to cross from Greece.

Turkey Offers Bulgaria Bilateral Mechanism on Migration

Novinite.com – A phone conversation has been held between Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov, at the initiative of the Turkish side, the according to the public broadcaster’s Istanbul correspondent. It was Yıldırım who proposed that the mechanism be set up to control the influx into Bulgaria.