1/ In 2020, Parvin, a young woman from Iran, crossed the Greek-Turkish border 7 times; 6 times across the Evros/Meriç river and once over the Aegean Sea. She was arrested and pushed back 6 times. We worked w/ @ECCHRBerlin, @rights360 and Parvin to reconstruct her journey.
2/ Parvin recorded her first 3 crossings through photos, videos, audio messages & live location sharing. Unprecedentedly, she was able to record videos from inside Greek border guard stations that revealed the cell interiors & conditions of detention, all previously undocumented.
3/ Analysing this evidence, we found that she was held in four Greek Border Guard stations: Neo Cheimonio BGS, Iasmos BGS, Tychero BGS, and Soufli BGS, twice.
4/ Before her first pushback, in Neo Cheimonio BGS Parvin was tortured by officers and received death threats. Using her testimony, her videos, found footage, and satellite imagery we created a 3D model of the BG Station and positioned her recollections in space.
5/ Before her second and sixth pushbacks, at Soufli BGS Parvin was held for hours on end with numerous other people in a container without aeration or a toilet. We located this container in the parking lot of the BGS, exactly where she remembered it.
6/ During her third pushback, at the Kastanies/Pazarkule border fence in late February 2020, Parvin was tear gassed and shot at, and became an early witness to the violent March 2020 events which would leave at least two dead, Muhammad al-Arab and Muhammad Gulzar.
7/ Following her fourth pushback, when she was left adrift in the Aegean Sea by the Hellenic Coast Guard, Parvin was detained in 5 different locations in Turkey, from the Aegean coast all the way to the border with Syria.
8/ During her fifth & sixth pushbacks through Tychero & Soufli BGS, guards were assisted by men from Afghanistan & Iran. In exchange for not being pushed back themselves, these men—who identified as 'slaves'—had to live in the BGS and ferry other asylum seekers back into Turkey.
9/ Spanning summary expulsions & torture in the Evros/Meriç, apprehensions deep inside GR territory, ‘drift-backs’ in the Aegean & extended periods of detention in TR, Parvin’s pushbacks cover the full spectrum of this violent practice. A thorough investigation is long overdue.
10/ View the full investigation: parvin.forensic-architecture.org
11/ Read the piece by @derspiegel: spiegel.de/ausland/griech…
12/ Follow the press conference with Hanaa Akiki of @ECCHRBerlin, @eleni_takou of @rights360, @MuizNils of @AmnestyEU, @tsitse of @Hellenic_League, and our @LevidisStefanos, today at 11:00 CET: bit.ly/32AFccG
13/ Read the complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee #HRCttee by @ECCHRBerlin & @rights360: ecchr.eu/en/case/bringi…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.