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Beaten and imprisoned by Greek police

Date & Time 2019-10-24
Location Nea Vyssa
Reported by Philoxenia
Coordinates 41.58101805, 26.5413055
Pushback from Greece
Pushback to Turkey
Taken to a police station yes
Minors involved no
WLTI* involved no
Men involved yes
Age 18 - 25
Group size 3
Countries of origin Morocco
Treatment at police station or other place of detention detention
Overall number of policemen and policewomen involved Unknown
Violence used beating (with batons/hands/other), theft of personal belongings
Police involved Greek police officers, non-uniformed men in balaclavas

The respondent crossed the Turkey-Greece border on the 24th of October, 2019 from the Turkish city of Edirne. The respondent was in a transit group with two other people from Morocco (group members aged 18, 22 and 25 years old). On route to the Greek village of Nea Vyssa, the transit group was stopped by two police officers. The respondent was able to identify the officers as part of the Greek police forces from their uniform.

The officers violently beat the men in the transit group using batons. The beating from Greek police officers left the respondent as well as another man in the transit group with broken arms.

Arm broken by officers during apprehension, showing horizontal contusion.

The group was then taken to a facility described by the respondent as being like a prison and being very dirty. The transit group were not given any food during their detention in this site.

Officers in balaclavas took the transit group back to the border of Greece-Turkey and pushed them back to the Turkish town of Uzunkopru. The officers took all possesions from the transit group  including money, clothes and mobile phones.