News / EU

Turkey border officials help people smugglers: Greek President

Monday, 18 January 2016 3:55 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2016 3:56 PM ]

Refugees arrive on the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey on a dinghy on September 10, 2015. (AFP)

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos has accused border officials in Turkey of assisting smugglers who transfer thousands of refugees to Europe.

"I have a strong fear that Turkish smugglers have the support of the authorities, in particular, border authorities who act like they have seen nothing," Pavlopoulos said on Monday during a visit to Germany.

He also said he was aware of cases where the smugglers “were helped,” adding, “It's a type of slave trade.”

The Greek president further accused Turkey of allowing thousands of people to take boat journeys to Greece.

"We will respond in an appropriate manner to the refugee question but Turkey must also fulfill its engagements. These illegal economic migrants, who arrive in Greece because Turkish authorities are not doing their work, should be sent back to Turkey under the accords in force,” Pavlopoulos added.

Greece and Turkey are on the frontlines of the recent refugee crisis mainly from the Middle East and Africa. People normally take dangerous boat trips from Turkish port cities to Greece or Italy. They later go through Balkan states to reach states with open door policies such as Germany.

Refugees walk after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia near the village of Miratovac on January 17, 2016. (AFP)

Turkey hosts 2.2 million Syrian refugees and more than 800,000 refugees arrived in Greek islands in the Aegean Sea from Turkey in 2015.

Also on Monday, Amnesty International said in a report that female refugees faced sexual abuse during their journeys in Europe, urging the European states to offer more protection for women.

The international rights group said in a report on Monday that it interviewed 40 female refugees, from Syria and Iraq, in Germany and Norway.

"Many reported that in almost all of the countries they passed through, they experienced physical abuse and financial exploitation, being groped or pressured to have sex by smugglers, security staff or other refugees," the Amnesty report said.

The report also noted that female refugees who travel alone or with their children felt being under threat in camps set up for refugees in Greece, Croatia and Hungary as they had to share bathroom facilities with men or sleep alongside men in the camps.

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