in-cyprus 18 October 2022 - by Stelios Marathovouniotis
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) demanded an investigation into the discovery of 92 naked people on Greece’s land border with Turkey.
“We condemn such cruel and degrading treatment and call for a full investigation into this incident,” the UNHCR said in a tweet.
Greek police on Saturday said they rescued a group of 92 migrants who were discovered naked and believed to have crossed into Greek territory from Turkey illegally.
Greece’s Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said on Sunday that migrants’ accounts suggested that they have been taken to Greece by the Turkish military police.
“One would expect a working explanation from the Turkish government’s side,” he told a Greek television station.
Turkey denied involvement in the incident, Turkish Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli said late on Saturday.
“As you couldn’t find one single case of a human rights violation by Turkey, you just seek to expose the image of your own cruelty as if Turkey did it,” Catakli said on Twitter replying to a tweet by Notis Mitarachi, Greek Minister of Migration.
Catakli also called on Greece to stop “manipulation and dishonesty”.
Greece has urged Turkey to respect a 2016 deal with the European Union in which Ankara agreed to contain the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for billions of euros in aid.
Turkey says it has strengthened measures to prevent people smuggling.
Athens will soon extend a 40-kilometres fence along its northern border with Turkey to prevent migrants from entering the country, Theodorikakos said.
(With information from Reuters)
