16/11/2018: New evidence of police violence and illegal deportation of asylum seekers in Evros

GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM)
Address: P.O. Box 60820, GR-15304 Glyka Nera
Tel.: (+30) 2103472259 Fax: (+30) 2106018760
e–mail: panayotedimitras@gmail.com website: https://greekhelsinki.wordpress.com

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Ms. Dunja Mijatović
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Commissioner@coe.int

16 November 2018

Another video evidence of police violence and illegal deportation of asylum seekers in Evros

Dear Commissioner,

Further to our 9 and 29 September 2018 letters, we are sending another update with information published in http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-villagers-warmly-welcome-migrants-after-greek-police-beat-them-naked-138823 and reprinted (without editing) here.

November 13 2018 14:31:11

Turkish villagers warmly welcome migrants
after Greek police beat them naked

EDİRNE

Residents of the Kiremitçi Salih village in the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne warmly welcomed a group of migrants they found naked and exhausted in their fields late Nov. 11.

According to local media reports, migrants from Yemen and Palestine walked to the Turkish village after they were beaten by Greek police on the other side of the border, which they had crossed illegally.

The Turkish villagers opened the local coffee house and turned on the stove heater to warm the half-naked migrants, who were offered clothes, food and warm drinks.

“All of them have marks and scars on their backs. They said the Greek police beat them before forcing them to walk back into Turkey,” village head Zeki Ateş told journalists.

Turkish gendarmerie forces later took the migrants from the village and bused them to a migration center.

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In the Turkish language coverage here https://www.haberler.com/edirne-yunan-polisinin-ciplak-gonderdigi-gocmenler-11437700-haberi/ there is additionally a video with interviews with some of the victims also reported in the text.

We appreciate your reference to the recurring problem in your recent report on Greece and urge you again to write to the Greek authorities asking them to promptly and efficiently investigate this new group claim of ill-treatment and/or illegal destruction of documents and/or deportation of reportedly 80 persons who are now in Turkey by one (or more) Supreme Court Deputy Prosecutor(s) or Athens Appeals Court Prosecutor(s) for the criminal aspect and the Greek Ombudsman for the administrative aspect.

We thank you for your attention to this letter.

Yours sincerely

Panayote Dimitras
GHM Spokesperson and OMCT General Assembly Member