International investigation reveals: EU set up secret refugee prisons on Turkish border
It has been claimed that there are secret prisons at the external borders of the European Union (EU), where asylum seekers are detained and subjected to ill-treatment.
According to the news reported by Deutsche Welle Turkish, investigations by the German public broadcaster ARD and Spiegel magazine together with broadcasters Lighthouse Reports, Sky News, Le Monde, Domani, SRF and RFE/RL Bulgaria revealed that the illegality The “returns” of the people held in these prisons showed that he was deported with “push” applications.
It was noted that the existence of such prisons was first demonstrated as a result of the joint investigation of broadcasters. According to the investigation, one of these prisons is located in Bulgaria, on the territory of the border post. The building, which looks like a makeshift shack surrounded by iron bars, is said to have been viewed on hidden cameras, and records showed the refugees were kept lying on the ground among rubbish and then driven elsewhere in cars.
Greece is often criticized for its practice of pushing migrants back to Turkey.
RETURN TO TURKEY
The report also includes the statements of the asylum seekers, stating that they were held in these barracks for days without food or water, and then taken to the border by the police and forced to return to Turkey.
Constantin Hruschka, a lawyer at the Munich-based Max-Planck-Institute, told ARD that these shelters mean deprivation of liberty and are completely illegal. The prohibition of treatment contrary to human dignity and degrading cannot be violated under any circumstances.
‘EU OFFICIALS WORK IN SECRET PRISON’
Investigations by broadcasters also revealed that illegal arrests took place in front of the eyes of the EU border agency, Frontex. It has been reported that 10 Frontex officers are working at the said border post in Bulgaria. Wenzel Michalski, director of Human Rights Watch’s Germany division, said Frontex is “part of the problem” and stressed that officials who fail to prevent such practices will be complicit.
Responding to questions from related broadcasters, Frontex noted that its officers supported the Bulgarian border police in the region in their border observation activities. Frontex did not determine the mentioned conditions, but the information was passed on to the relevant units. The Bulgarian authorities, on the other hand, left unanswered questions on the subject.
Frontex, an EU institution, has previously come under heavy criticism for condoning Greece’s practices of pushing back asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea.
Broadcasters revealed similar practices in both Hungary and Bulgaria. In the footage it is claimed that the Hungarian border police forced the refugees onto container ships with batons. In their statements, the refugees said they were kept in these containers for hours without being given food or water, and then taken to the border in buses and forced to return to Serbia.