Skip to content
Support our work

They took everything and they sent us back just with boxers.

Date & Time 2022-04-14
Location Evros river, Greece
Reported by Anonymous
Coordinates 41.245178948461, 26.319383639199
Pushback from Greece
Pushback to Turkey
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 18 - 40
Group size 7
Countries of origin Syria, Egypt
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 9
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, forcing to undress, theft of personal belongings, reckless driving
Police involved 5 officers that wore blue uniforms and balaclavas 4 individuals with their faces completely covered and wearing civil clothing.

The respondent, a 20-year-old man from Egypt, was part of a transit group with seven other men between the ages of 18-40 years from Egypt and Syria. At approximately 21:45 on an unspecified date in April 2022, the group was reportedly apprehended in Greece in a forest located close to the border with Turkey. After the arrest, the transit group was reportedly pushed back to Turkey at around 23:00 on the same day. 

The respondent reported that the transit group first crossed the border between Turkey and Greece at around 21:00 on an unspecified date in April 2022. The respondent recalled that the transit group was apprehended by five officers that wore blue uniforms and balaclavas at a location approximately 4km from the border. The officers reportedly had a blue van without windows.

During the apprehension, the transit group was reportedly subjected to violence. The respondent reported that the officers used black metal batons and wooden sticks to beat the group. The respondent reported that officers were kicking the group with very hard shoes and that they were shouting in a language that the respondent could not understand. The respondent reported that the beating lasted 10-15 minutes.

They took everything and they sent us back just with boxers.

The respondent recalled that the officers searched their bodies and confiscated a number of the group’s personal belongings including their clothes, phones, money, and backpacks. “They took everything and they sent us back just with boxers.”

The respondent reported that the group was then transported to the Turkish border. The journey took approximately half an hour by car. The officers reportedly drove recklessly. The section of the vehicle where the group was held reportedly did not have windows.

At the border there were reportedly four individuals with their faces completely covered and wearing civil clothing.

The respondent reported that the group arrived at the Evros river. At the border there were reportedly four individuals with their faces completely covered and wearing civil clothing. These individuals reportedly spoke a language that the respondent could not understand. The respondent recalled the presence of at least three surveillance towers in the distance. 

The respondent reported that the transit group was pushed back to Turkey across the Evros river. The pushback was reportedly conducted using one dinghy, driven by these masked individuals.