Tag Archives: Deportation

News Digest

Deportations as a Business Model

In a recent post, Deportation Monitoring Aegean reports about deportations as a business model. It describes the role of private companies facilitating deportations from the Greek Islands to Turkey, which are employed by the European Border and Cost Guard Agency FRONTEX. The post follows the financial flows surrounding the execution of deportations.

Via Deportation Monitoring Aegean – The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, better known as Frontex, supports the operational implementation of the deportations under the EU-Turkey statement. This means that the agency is responsible for deploying so-called “forced-return escorts” that support the Greek authorities with deportations.

This article was first published at Deportation Monitoring Aegean

News Digest

The Prison within the Prison within The Prison

Deportation Monitoring Aegean published a report about the detention complex of Moria camp on Lesvos Island.

The report describes the legal grounds for detention in Greece and the actual policy of detaining migrants, focusing on the situation in the pre-removal prison of Moria camp. It criticizes detention of migrants on arrival based on their national belonging and the conditions of detention, following individual stories of asylum seekers held in detention. Continue reading The Prison within the Prison within The Prison →

Newsletter

HarekAct Newsletter VI – July, August and September 2018

TURKEY’S MIGRATION MANAGEMENT REGIME

Following our attendance at the Kritnet Conference in last May, we finally had the chance to share our contributions in HarekAct. One of our editors focused on the post EU-Turkey deal context in Istanbul, Turkey, which is marked by policies and practices of marginalization, irregularization and criminalization of migrants. The unfavorable conditions in the provision of registration, services and protection, with the implementation of additional mechanisms of securitization, detention and forced deportation, has had the impact of extending the constraints of the global border regime further to directly affect the living experiences of migrants in Istanbul.

In July, Human Rights Watch also published a report on the consequences of Turkey’s suspension of registering Syrians in Istanbul and other nine cities along the Syrian border. The report claims that this practice represents Turkey’s latest efforts in denying new asylum-seekers protection, following the closure of the borders and the shooting at individuals attempting to cross. Ultimately it is forcing Syrians to live under the risk of deportation, without access to urgent services, and having to depend on smugglers inside Turkey.

Reports reveal Turkey’s further plans to engineer the movement of more Syrian populations to the outskirts of Turkey. One of the sources mentions a decision to transfer 34,180 Syrian refugees from five camps to facilities closer to the border with Syria, and another quotes Erdoğan’s pledge to create more safe zones in Syria in order to allow refugees to return. Continue reading HarekAct Newsletter VI – July, August and September 2018 →

News Digest

The Guardian on unlawful deportation from Turkey to Syria

Via The Guardian [16.10.2018] – With tension mounting in Idlib, people trying to flee across the border are being given the choice of detention or waiving their right to asylum

The Syrian town of Atimha, at the border wall between Turkey and Syria.
The Syrian town of Atimha, at the border wall between Turkey and Syria. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters

Tareq* can recall in detail each of the 22 times he climbed over the concrete border wall, dodged a flurry of bullets, and sprinted as fast as he could – until Turkish border guards caught him and turned him back.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

This reportage was published by The Guardian

News Digest

An open secret: Refugee pushbacks across the Turkey-Greece border

Via IRIN

Linda, a 19-year-old Syrian and registered refugee, had just crossed from Turkey into Greece at the Evros River when men carrying guns appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. She wasn’t sure if they were police officers or soldiers, but they emerged from behind trees and wore dark uniforms that helped them blend into the night.

This article was originally published by IRIN

News Digest

Fleeing worsening war, Afghans find narrowing options in Turkey

Via IRIN

The Turkish city of Erzurum sits on an expansive green plain, ringed on all sides by towering mountains. Best known as a destination for winter sports enthusiasts, who flock here when snow blankets the nearby slopes, it is also a gateway for another set of visitors – Afghans uprooted by their country’s long and brutal war.

This article was originally published by IRIN

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.