Tag Archives: Advocacy

HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 31/07/2019

22nd – 28th July

People getting deported from Küçükçekmece district, Istanbul .

Update concerning inhumane and unlawful deportations of Syrians | Condemn of deportations across broad range of civil society actors| Anti migrant discourse fueled by many politicians | Tense atmosphere in Istanbul | Turkey suspends readmission agreement with EU | Horrifying conditions at Harmandalı Removal Center | Report of 25 refugees who froze to death at the Turkish-Iranian border

Update concerning inhumane and unlawful deportations of Syrians

Following reports in the previous weeks about mass deportations of Syrians, several journalists and Institutions have published further details about the (ongoing) inhumane and unlawful deportations of Syrians living in Turkey. Rights groups in Istanbul claim that within one week between 600 and 1500 Syrians were wrongfully returned from Istanbul to Syria. It is reported, through discussions on social media and by people with contacts in the communities, that other migrant groups, particularly those who are living and working undocumented in Istanbul are also being targeted.

Condemn of deportations across broad range of civil society actors

Several Human rights organizations have harshly criticized the deportations in public statements.

Continue reading HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 31/07/2019 →
HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 08/05/19

30th April – 7th May

Greek-Turkish Border. Here the land border close to Edirne.

Several Push-backs from Greece around the Evros region |
Second pushback from Greek waters in the Aegean Sea within a month | Ten people die trying to reach Greek islands |
Worrying reports of deportations of vulnerable people from the Greece islands | Information about a hidden EASO report casting doubt on Turkey as a safe country translated |
Mare Liberum prevented from leaving Lesvos | Statement by the Izmir Bar Association on the recent deaths in the Aegean

News&Reports

Several Push-backs from Greece around the Evros region

Recent reports indicate a surge of push-backs at the Greek-Turkish border.  Several reports have been published which describe violent push-backs of people from Greek soil following their crossing of the Greek-Turkish border via the Evros river.

Continue reading HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 08/05/19 →
HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 24/04/2019

17th – 24th April 2019

Photo by Maria Klenner

Mare Liberum to set sail again | Refoulement at Turkish-Greek border | Case against Greece at European Court of Human Rights | Threat of deportation from Bulgaria to Turkey

News&Reports

Mare Liberum ready to set sail again

In a blog post, the crew of the human rights monitoring project Mare Liberum look back at one year of presence in the Aegean Sea, between Turkey to Greece. The project was launched in early 2018 with the mission to “observe, document and draw public attention to the dangerous situation at the European border”. Although Greek authorities were eager to criminalize the project from the very beginning, the Mare Liberum crew managed to set sail in late August 2018. In its post, the crew offers an overview over its activities during the past year. Criticizing the negative effects of the EU-Turkey deal, they state:

Continue reading HarekAct’s Weekly Digest 24/04/2019 →
HarekAct Reporting, News Digest

Harek Act’s Weekly News Digest 26/02/2019

We introduce you to our new weekly news digest on migration, asylum and border issues primarily in Turkey as well as on the general European context as far as it is connected to Turkey.

Anti-Migrant Violence and Discrimination///Exploitation///Border Region///Broader Discourse///Numbers///Further Information

Anti-migrant violence and discrimination

  • After mass attacks against the Syrian community in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul on the 9 February, reported here, the anti-Syrian attacks are continuing. Four masked individuals raided into the house of a Syrian family in Sultangazi, Istanbul. Among seven people living in the house, one was severely injured after being shot in the head.
  • Seven Syrian families living in the Artuklu neighborhood of Mardin were threatened with letters posted at their doors, three of which also had a bullet placed next to them, Evrensel reports. The letters read: “Respectful landlord, if you don’t leave the house in 10 days, a bomb attack will be organized. This is your first warning, the second one will hurt someone. We don’t want you in this neighborhood.”
Continue reading Harek Act’s Weekly News Digest 26/02/2019 →
News Digest

Representation of Refugees in the Media in the AKP Era

Gece sokakta Suriyeli avına çıkıldı

Via Hâlâ Gazeteciyiz – This Study by Funda Cantek and Cavidan Soykan traces notions as movement of Turkey-bound migration, the conditions of migrants who have settled in various cities in Turkey temporarily or permanently and their relationship with the local inhabitants, Turkey’s migration policy, and incidents in which migrants were presented as victims or perpetrators by browsing the dailies Sözcü, Hürriyet and Yeni Akit from the beginning of AKP rule in 2002 up to now.

The Turkish version is available here.

Continue reading Representation of Refugees in the Media in the AKP Era →
News Digest

Deportation Monitoring Aegean and Legal Centre Lesbos Publish Joint Report

STOP DEPORTATIONS TO TURKEY

People trapped on the Greek Islands are deprived of basic rights

Via Deportation Monitoring Aegean and Legal Centre Lesbos – Since the EU-Turkey Statement, more and more people seeking protection in Europe are deported directly from the Greek Islands to Turkey. According to the European Commission, at least 2,224 people have been deported to Turkey since the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal on 20th of March 2016.

This article was originally published by Deportation Monitoring Aegean, Legal Centre Lesbos.

News Digest

UNHCR urges Greece to address overcrowded reception centres on Aegean islands

Via UNHCR – This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is today urging the Government of Greece to address the situation in Aegean Sea Reception and Identification Centres (RICs), commonly known as ‘hotspots’.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

This article was originally published by UNHCR.

News Digest

Defendants Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment in Murder of Ugandan Sisters

The case of Violet and Beatrice was brought to public thanks to the consistent efforts of feminist solidarity groups who followed the case since the beginning till the end. And finally the case ended up with justice. Long live feminist solidarity!

Via Bianet – Two defendants have been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in trial of Ugandan Nantaba being murdered and her twin sister Babiry being subjected to sexual and physical violence. Continue reading Defendants Sentenced to Lifetime Imprisonment in Murder of Ugandan Sisters →

News Digest, Other Resources

Study by the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament published

The EU-Turkey Statement and the Greek Hotspots – A Failed European Pilot Project in Refugee Policy

The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament recently published a study focusing on the detrimental impact that the EU-Turkey Statement and the implementation of the “hotspot approach” in Greece is having on the rights of refugees and migrants arriving. The study finds that the current procedures and practices for processing asylum applications on the Greek islands under the EU-Turkey statement violate the applicants’ right to asylum and due process.

The study can be downloaded here.