Rescued migrants say Greek soldiers tortured them

By Gokhan Balci

EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - Irregular migrants have said Greek soldiers who pushed them to Turkey maltreated them.

The group rescued by Turkish border units in the northwestern province Edirne said the Greek soldiers took their money.

A 31-year-old Pakistani migrant told Anadolu Agency that after moving to Greece with a group of 18 people, they marched to the city of Xanthi and were arrested by police on their way to Kavala.

Musaddiq Javed said they were handed over to the soldiers by police.

The soldiers, he claimed, took his phone and euros and liras he owned.

Javed said that he wanted to go to Europe because he had to take care of his family back in Pakistan.

"We stayed in Greece for four days and whenever we wanted food they would beat us up.

"The soldiers took me to a room, blindfolded me and put out their cigarettes on my hand and they would hit my feet," Javed said.

He stated that they were thrown into the Marista River and sent back to Turkey, where they received humane treatment.

Mohammed Nainiya, a Moroccan national, echoed this view.

Claiming that Greek soldiers seized his phone and 700 euros, Nainiya said: "They brought us to the river on a military vehicle".

"They put 20 of us on a boat and told us to cross the river while hitting our head with sticks," Nainiya said, claiming they also took his clothes.

"We walked for miles after crossing to Turkey and came to a village, where the villagers gave us clothes.

"The gendarmerie took us to the doctor and told me I had three fractures on my foot that needed surgery," Nainiya said.

He said that he had the surgery in Turkey and stayed in the hospital for a week.

In the first 10 months of 2019, 25,404 irregular migrants were reportedly pushed back to Turkey from Greece.

* Writing by Dilara Hamit in Ankara