An update on the case of the Syrian refugees trapped on the #Evros islet, based on all the information available to me at this moment🧵1/9
https://twitter.com/g_christides/status/1558201548399935488
2/9 Three high-ranking GR officials w/ direct knowledge have confirmed to me the coordinates in the Interim Measures by the @ECHR_CEDH, mandating their rescue by Greece and non-removal from GR territory, lie within Turkish territory.
3/9 This is based on classified Army mapping, upon request by @hellenicpolice. I have seen no evidence from Turkey contradicting this, apart from leaks from the Turkish side the island is of mixed sovereignty. Also GR dismisses publicly available sources that the islet is Greek
4/9 According to the Greek side, this means that Turkey has the sole responsibility to rescue the Syrians and should have done so long ago. And that any attempt by Greece to do SAR on TUR soil could provoke a serious border incident.
5/9 Having said that: others, incl. legal experts, profess that the status of the islet (c. 10m separates it from the GR bank of Evros at the narrowest point), does not absolve GR from its responsibility to ensure the safety of the refugees and their access to asylum process...
6/9 ... especially as they fear deportation to Syria, which was the reason they fled Turkey in the 1st place. We have Turkish deportation orders in our possession for several members of the group. TUR, as everyone should know by now, is cracking down hard on refugees. 
7/9 Greek sources with direct knowledge of police operations tell me there are ways this matter could have been solved through bilateral communications and channels as it has happened in the past. Apparently GR and TUR are not interested in this option.
8/9 The fact remains there are, as we speak, desperate people at the EU’s doorstep, who have reported the death of a child and are in dire need of medical attention and every other form of care.
9/9 Protecting human life and dignity and ensuring effective access to asylum should be the primary concern here.
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