The UN refugee agency said on Sunday that it was deeply saddened by the discovery of nearly 100 naked men on the border between Greece and Turkey.
The two countries blamed each other for the plight of these 92 migrants. Greek police said they rescued 92 men who were found naked, and some injured, near the Turkish border on Friday.
They said that their investigation with officers from the EU border agency Frontex found evidence that the migrants had crossed the Evros River into Greek territory on a boat from Turkey.
Greek authorities said the men were immediately given clothes, food and first aid. It is unclear how and why the clothes were lost. Frontex said the men were mostly from Afghanistan and Syria and that the agency’s human rights office had been informed of possible rights violations.
The UNHCR condemn any cruel and degrading treatment and call for a full investigation. The discovery of the men comes a few days after a report by the EU agency criticized some Frontex officials for covering up illegal immigration from Greece to Turkey, which Athens denies. Frontex said that such actions by its officers are a thing of the past. Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used an address at the UN to accuse Greece of turning the Aegean Sea into a “grave” and said it had an “oppressive policy” on immigration.
