ISTANBUL (AP) 鈥 Turkish officials on Sunday shot back at Greek allegations that Turkey forced 92 naked into Greece, calling it 鈥渇ake news鈥 and accusing Greece of the mistreatment.
Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi was 鈥渟haring false information鈥 after the official of the on Saturday and blamed Turkey, said Fahrettin Altun, the communications director of Turkey鈥檚 president.
Altun in Turkish, Greek and English that this was to 鈥渃ast suspicion on our country,鈥 while calling on Athens to abandon its 鈥渉arsh treatment of refugees.鈥
鈥淕reece has shown once again to the entire world that it does not respect the dignity of refugees by posting these oppressed people鈥檚 pictures it has deported after extorting their personal possessions,鈥 he said.
Deputy Interior Minister Ismail Catakli tweeted that the photo showed Greece鈥檚 cruelty. 鈥淪pend your time to obey human rights, not for manipulations & dishonesty!"
Greek police said Saturday that police officers found the migrants stark naked on Friday, 鈥渟ome with bodily injuries鈥 who had entered the country using plastic boats to cross the Evros River, which forms a border between the two countries.
Relations between the two neighboring countries have been tense over a variety of issues, including migration.
Turkey regularly accuses Greece of violently pushing back migrants entering the country by land and sea. Turkey鈥檚 coast guard frequently shares videos of such pushbacks.
Greece accuses Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, of 鈥減ushing forward鈥 migrants to put pressure on the EU.
The U.N. refugee agency said it was 鈥渄eeply distressed by the shocking reports,鈥 condemning the 鈥渄egrading treatment鈥 and calling for an investigation.
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