Asylum seeker

Turkey urges EU to take responsibility for refugees

Turkey's vice president urged the EU on July 6 to open legal migration routes for Syrians as part of the fair burden and responsibility sharing principle.

Fuat Oktay also appealed for member states to activate the voluntary humanitarian admission mechanism with concrete commitments and to increase the settlement quotas for refugees.

Greece Wants to Speed up Repatriation of Asylum Seekers to Safe Turkey

Turkey is a safe country for most asylum seekers now housed on Greek islands, Greece's migration ministry has said, as Athens seeks to speed up repatriations to its eastern neighbour.

According to a 2016 agreement between the European Union and Turkey, the latter should take back Syrian refugees from Greece if they do not face serious risks in Turkey.

Turkey rescues more than 130 asylum seekers in Aegean Sea

Turkey on June 7 rescued 131 asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea after they were illegally pushed back by Greek coastal authorities into Turkish territorial waters, an official said.

Acting on a tip, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued at least 102 migrants from rubber boats off the coast of Dikili in the western Izmir province, said a coast guard statement.

Greece says migrants in Turkey could seek asylum there

Greece on June 7 announced that applications for asylum filed by individuals in Turkey will no longer be accepted. 

"Turkey is designated a safe country for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia," said a joint decision by the Greek Foreign Ministry as well as the Migration and Asylum Ministry.

Greek Coast Guard attempts to set asylum seeker on fire

The Turkish Coast Guard Command announced on April 17 that it rescued 41 asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea who were pushed back into Turkish territorial waters with one set on fire by the Greek Coast Guard.

The command said on its website that coast guard teams were dispatched to rescue asylum seekers early on April 17 off the Çesme district in İzmir province.

Migrants, public assembly highlighted in Amnesty report

Ljubljana – Amnesty International says in its latest human rights report that Slovenia denied asylum-seekers access to asylum in 2020, while forcibly returning migrants to Croatia. The country is criticised for limiting freedom of assembly during the pandemic, handling Covid infections at care homes inadequately, and failing to resolve Roma issues.

Asylum seekers rescued in northwest Turkey

Turkey's coast guard rescued at least 24 asylum seekers stranded in the Aegean Sea off Ayvalık district in northwestern Balıkesir province late on April 5. 

The asylum seekers, who were attempting to reach the Greek island of Lesbos in a rubber boat, were stranded and drifting at sea after the engine failed near Çıplak Island.

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