Friday, April 1, 2016

Greece to move forward with migrant deportations despite concerns

Greece is pressing ahead with plans to start deporting migrants and refugees back to Turkey next week, despite mounting concern from the UN and human rights organisations that Syrians could be denied proper protection. Parliamentarians in Athens are due to back fast-tracked draft legislation to allow the returns to begin as soon as Monday. The operation would see migrants and refugees who arrived on Greek islands after March 20 put on boats and sent back to Turkey. Greek officials said deportations are likely to start from the island of Lesbos, with migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries whose asylum claims are considered inadmissible. The transport is set to be carried out under heavy security escort - with one police minder for every migrant - using buses that will travel from island detention camps and are likely to board straight onto chartered vessels. The imminent deportations, which are backed by the European Union following its recent agreement with Turkey, have triggered more violence at detention camps in Greece. Authorities on the Greek island of Chios said several hundred people broke out of an overcrowded detention camp and headed to the island's...

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