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She pleaded to the officers for Asylum. The only response she received was to shut up.

Date & Time 2021-11-15
Location Orestiada (GR) to Karakasım (TR)
Reported by josoor
Coordinates 41.5014015, 26.5310803
Pushback from Greece
Pushback to Turkey
Taken to a police station no
Minors involved yes
WLTI* involved yes
Men involved yes
Age 2 - 50
Group size 53
Countries of origin Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Nigeria
Treatment at police station or other place of detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved 14
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), kicking, forcing to undress, theft of personal belongings, reckless driving
Police involved 14 officers in green uniforms, civilian clothing, and sportswear. Greek police car x1, unmarked pick-up truck x1, unmarked van x1. Greek, English, and Arabic spoken.

On the 15th of November, a 36-year-old Moroccan woman and her three children (two, six and ten years old) were pushed back from Orestiada, Greece to Karakasım, Turkey along with 49 other people on the move (POM). Of the 53 people pushed back, five were minors aged between two and 17 years old. 

On the previous day, the respondent and her children travelled from Istanbul to Edirne. At around 15:00 she and her children were driven for approximately five hours to the Turkish-Greek border. In the vehicle, there were six other travelers one of whom was a 17-year-old Syrian minor travelling with his friend. Of the remaining five adults, three were from Morocco and two from Syria aged between 18 to 40 years old. The respondent was the only woman. 

The vehicle stopped around 3 kilometres from the border in what the respondent reported to be a large, agricultural field. On the riverbank, the respondent found a small, plastic boat, which she and a group of ten others used to cross the Evros/Meriç River into Greece. The time was 22:00. 

When they reached land, the group of eleven began walking along an unpaved road and through a forest before reaching an open field. With little natural coverage, the men began to run, yet the respondent still carrying her two-year-old, wasn’t able to keep pace. Falling behind, the family of four kept to a fast walk for almost 5 kilometres until reaching what she described as an orchard. Moments after, the respondent heard vehicles approaching, soon followed by the beam of a car light. She tried to hide herself and her children, but the cars caught up to them. Of the group of eleven who made it across, eight were apprehended. 

The group of eight stood in front of the two vehicles. The respondent confirmed that six officers were present, five of whom wore green uniforms while one was dressed in civilian clothing. All six officers reportedly carried firearms. The respondent confirmed that one vehicle was a Greek police car, described as white and blue with ‘POLICE’ written on it, and the other an unmarked, black pick-up truck with a large searchlight on top.

With firearms pointed at the group, the respondent reported that the officers began beating and kicking two of the four men in the transit group who had tried to run away. One of them the 17-year-old, was reported violently beaten and kicked by one of the officers. The respondent noted that “[the minor] screamed from pain, then the officer kicked him in his shoulder with his boot and started punching him in his face.” The abuse lasted for around five minutes. The respondent then reportedly pleaded to the officer to give her family asylum, pointing to her children and screaming, “camp, camp!”, but they only screamed back and told her to shut up.

When addressing the transit group, the officers reportedly spoke in English. Among each other, they reportedly spoke Greek. The officers demanded that all phones be handed over. Each person was then searched one-by-one. A full strip search of the four men reportedly followed even with the respondent and her children in close proximity. The entire group was held outside for over an hour. “It was so cold…and they were talking and laughing while they [looked] at us.” When the search was over, they returned only their clothing. The time was around 2:00. 

A large, unmarked red van reached the group soon after the search was finished. Inside the vehicle were two officers in the front and five other people-on-the-move in the trunk. One officer reportedly wore a black uniform that also clearly displayed his ranking. The other officer wore only civilian clothing, including a jacket, jeans, and sneakers while carrying a balaclava in hand. In the trunk, the respondent found four adults and one 12-year-old minor. The youngest was accompanied by her father. One man reportedly traveled with his friend while the fifth man traveled alone. Both pairs were Syrian; the last was Palestinian. All were males except for the 12-year-old. 

With all 15 people loaded in the trunk of the van, the engine started. For 15 minutes they drove reportedly with minimal consideration of the people in the back. Driving recklessly along unpaved roads, the children could barely keep balance. When the car finally stopped and the 15 were unloaded, they found another group of around 40 people-on-the-move had already arrived. Of the possessions they still had, the officers ordered that they leave them in the van before joining the larger group. The respondent noted that from the dialects she could hear, the majority of Arabic speakers likely came from Morocco or Syria. Of those remaining, she speculated that they came from Nigeria or Mali. The group of 40 reportedly ranged between 20 – 35 years old and included three women. 

Accompanying them were six additional officers, all of whom were reportedly dressed in sportswear. No one wore a formal uniform, yet each had balaclavas along with batons. Near the river, the respondent spotted two plastic boats. With batons in hand, the officers searched the group again one-by-one. When they reached the respondent, one male officer reportedly physically checked for anything hidden. During the body search, the respondent continuously tried to push his hands away when touching her in sensitive areas, but he only responded by pushing her hands away. “I was trying to stop him…but he always [pulled] my hand down [and said] give me money for the safety of your kids!” When the respondent said that she had no money to give, the officer then began searching her children. “He asked me and my kids to take off our shoes and he searched my younger kids and then he searched my baby.” The officer reportedly undressed the infant, searching anything hidden in the infant’s clothing. When finished, he yelled at them to join the others. None of their family members’ shoes were returned. Barefoot and stripped of all remaining belongings, they headed into the boats.

When loading people into the boat, the officers threatened to hit them with a branch. All of the six men in sportswear near the boats reportedly spoke Arabic with a Syrian dialect. When the officers reportedly asked one man to walk forward towards the boat, he was apparently confused – not understanding what they were saying, yet neither translation nor patience were offered. Instead, one officer reportedly beat him with a baton and kicked him for no other reason than his inability to understand the language. The respondent, her children and around eight others then climbed into one of the small, plastic boats. The Arabic-speaking officer paddled the boat back across the river, until ordering the group to jump overboard. Barely able to walk herself, the children could have drowned if forced to try and navigate the waters on their own. Other travel companions took the children and helped them across. The time was around 3:30am.

Across the river, the mother and her three children walked for two hours before reaching a small town. Once there, a man offered to cover the costs to Edirne. After a taxi was called for them by a local resident, the family and a few other people-on-the-move began on their way back to where they began a day prior. They reached Edirne around 9:00am the next morning. No food, water, or medical support was given at any point during their captivity. No fingerprints or pictures were taken, and no translator was ever offered.