Turkey is 'illegally forcing refugees back to Syria', say Amnesty International
'It seems highly likely that Turkey has returned several thousand refugees to Syria in the last seven to nine weeks'
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Your support makes all the difference.Turkey has been accused of illegally forcing dozens of refugees to return to Syria every day.
Amnesty says the claims highlight the flaws of the EU-Turkey deal, which states refugees and migrants landing on the Greek coast will be returned to Turkey in return for financial support.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have willfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal. It is a deal that can only be implemented with the hardest of hearts and a blithe disregard for international law.
He added: "Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite
"It seems highly likely that Turkey has returned several thousand refugees to Syria in the last seven to nine weeks. If the agreement proceeds as planned, there is a very real risk that some of those the EU sends back to Turkey will suffer the same fate."
There are believed to be approximately 200,000 refugees living in camps within 20km of the Turkish border.
Turkey has scaled back the registration of refugees in its southern regions. Registration is required for the displaced Syrians to access basic public services.
Some refugees have told Amnesty they are scared of coming forward to register in case they are refused and forced back to Syria.
Turkish border guards have also been accused 16 Syrian refugees trying to cross the border into Turkey, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Three people have been stabbed amid riots on the Greek islands as the conditions worsen for refugees.
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