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Press Release: Greece Ordered to Rescue 34 Syrians from Evros River

5th April, 2022

Thirty-four Syrian nationals have been taken to the Greek mainland after surviving for three days on a deserted islet in the Evros/Meriç border river. The European Court of Human Rights obliged Greece to provide the group with shelter, food, medical care and shelter after an urgent appeal was submitted by the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN).

The group, which included six children and a pregnant woman, ran out of food and water before Greek authorities finally came to their aid, despite having been notified of their situation and location days earlier. According to the group, the authorities had been flying drones over the islet but never interacted with the group. Continue reading “Press Release: Greece Ordered to Rescue 34 Syrians from Evros River”

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Balkan Regional Report – February 2022

Summary and analysis of pushbacks and internal violence documented by BVMN during the month of FEBRUARY

In February, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 32 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 364 people-on-the-move across the Balkans. This report brings together first-hand testimony from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders.

Continue reading “Balkan Regional Report – February 2022”

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Violence Within State Borders: Greece

This report considers violence within state borders experienced by people-on the-move (herein POM) and those seeking asylum in Greece. It draws on 40 testimonies collected in the last months of violence in detention, police brutality, racist violence, and hate crimes, as well as open- source data on structural forms of violence present in the management of migration and asylum in Greece. Since the BVMN’s last report on internal violence in Greece in October 2020, the situation has continued to deteriorate, leaving POM at increasing risk of both physical, actual harm, and structural violence against their living conditions and immediate amenities. Continue reading “Violence Within State Borders: Greece”

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Balkan Regional Report – January 2022

Summary and analysis of pushbacks and internal violence documented by BVMN during the month of January

In January, the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 29 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 344 people-on-the-move across the Balkans. This report brings together first-hand testimony from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders. It delves into emerging trends in pushbacks and border violence against people-on-the-move in northern Serbia, focusing mainly on evictions and forced removals in the towns of Srspki Krstur and Dala.

Continue reading “Balkan Regional Report – January 2022”

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Balkan Regional Report – December 2021

Summary and analysis of pushbacks and internal violence documented by BVMN during the month of October.

In December the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) shared 30 testimonies of pushbacks impacting 280 people-on-the-move across the Balkans. This report brings together first-hand accounts from a range of countries in the region to look at the way European Union states and other actors are affecting systemic violence towards people crossing borders.

Continue reading “Balkan Regional Report – December 2021”