Greek authorities on Saturday accused Turkey of sending 92 illegal migrants into Greece after stripping them naked.
The migrants, all men, were discovered close to the Evros river that marks the border between Greece and Turkey on Friday, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the Greek police.
“Türkiye’s behaviour towards 92 migrants whom we rescued at the borders today, is a shame for civilisation. We expect Ankara to investigate the incident and protect at last, its borders with the EU,” Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said in a post on Twitter that included photos of naked men.
The migrants told police and officers of Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, that they had been forced by Turkish authorities to board three vehicles that took them to the border, the Business Standard reported. They also said that they had been forced to strip naked before boarding the boats.
Turkish Interior Ministry spokesperson İsmail Çataklı, responded to Greek claims on Sunday.
“As you couldn’t find one single case of human rights violation by Turkey, you just seek to expose image of your cruelty you’ve inflicted as if Turkey’s done!,” he said, commenting on Mitarachi’s tweet. “Spend your time to obey human rights, not for manipulations & dishonesty! C’mon, it’s not big deal; just be little bit civilised,” he added.
Turkey and Greece, two countries who shoulder the burden of refugee flows into Europe, repeatedly accuse each other of violating international law. While Ankara claims that Greek authorities bush back migrants to Turkey, Athens accuses Turkish authorities of pushing migrants forward to Europe.