Pushbacks Across the Evros/Meriç River: The case of Ayşe Erdoğan

A group of three Turkish political asylum seekers entered Greek territory on 4 May 2019 via the Evros/Meriç river. This investigation verified the group’s entry, their illegal detention in Greece, and their subsequent ‘pushback’ to Turkey on the 5 May 2019, where they were arrested and imprisoned by the Turkish authorities.

Ayşe Erdoğan, Kamil Yildirim, and Talip Niksar had been persecuted by the Turkish government on allegations of involvement in Fettulah Gulen’s movement. They recorded a video appealing for protection against a possible forced return to Turkey.

"We are Turkish political asylum seekers. We fled persecution back in Turkey and crossed Evros on May 4 at 5 am. We are hiding near Nea Vyssa in fear of push-back. We urge the United Nations and Greek authorities to protect us from being pushed back." pic.twitter.com/VGtedENSDo

— Zübeyir Koçulu (@zubeyirkoculu) May 4, 2019

The group also digitally recorded their journey via Whatsapp. In collaboration with HumanRights360 we obtained these text messages, location pins, photographs and videos, and we analyzed them to confirm the group’s presence on Greek soil, prior to their arrest and subsequent imprisonment by the Turkish authorities. We found that Ayşe, Kamil and Talip were within Greek territory and in a police station, where the group repeatedly attempted to apply for asylum. Their ongoing imprisonment is therefore a direct result of the Greek authorities contravening the principle of non-refoulement, which deems that a person cannot be returned to a place where their freedom and safety will be threatened.

Ayşe Erdoğan’s case corroborates the many testimonies of migrants crossing the Evros/Meriç river from Turkey to Greece, who have testified to being detained, beaten, and pushed back across the river to Turkey, by unidentified masked men and in full secrecy, without being granted access to asylum procedures. The Greek and EU authorities systematically deny any wrongdoing and refuse to investigate these reports.

Photo of the group outside a government building in Nea Vyssa, Greece, 4 May 2019. (Image courtesy of Ihsan Erdoğan)

Sketch map showing the location where the group was arrested by the Turkish Border Guards on 5 May 2019. (Image courtesy of Greek Council for Refugees)

The Evros/Meriç river delineates the only ‘land’ border between Greece and Turkey. Spanning from the Trilateral border with Bulgaria in the North, where the river is called Maritsa, to the Aegean Sea in the South. This so-called ‘natural’ border has in recent years been incorporated into a broader ecosystem of border defence. Its riverine characteristics have been weaponised to deter and kill migrants attempting to cross it.

For independent researchers, the militarisation of this border region makes access extremely difficult. A ‘buffer zone’ restricting civilian access to the border runs alongside both banks of the river. Detention centres and border guard stations are often located within this buffer zone, keeping detainees out of sight and without access to legal help.

Witnesses describe having their phones, documents and possessions confiscated, and often thrown into the river, suggesting an operation carefully designed to obscure all possible evidence of human rights violations.

The results of this investigation have been submitted to the State Prosecutor of Orestiada, Evros, the State Prosecutor of Thrace, and the Greek Ombudsman.