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1/ Our latest investigation with @rights360 confirms reports that migrants crossing the Evros/Meriç river from Turkey to Greece are beaten, illegally detained, and forcefully expelled by Greek forces, a practice known as “pushbacks”. https://bit.ly/31gEcXo
2/ We used 3D models to undertake ‘situated testimony’ that helped four victims of pushbacks identify the locations where they were detained and pushed back, and reconstruct their experiences. https://www.forensic-architecture.org/investigation/evros-situated-testimony/
3/ Witnesses described and modelled the buildings they were detained in. Using satellite photographs, ground footage and documents we confirmed these locations to be of key sites operated by the Greek authorities.
4/ These included the border guard stations of Tychero, Soufli, Feres, and Poros.
5/ Two days ago @PrimeministerGR visited Poros to inaugurate the erection of a new, 27km-long border fence. https://twitter.com/PrimeministerGR/status/1317408884022194177
6/ Our research shows that the Poros border guard station is a central node in the pushback infrastructure. Read our March 2020 thread on Poros: https://twitter.com/ForensicArchi/status/1238145328961990657
7/ Our earlier investigation into the pushback of Ayşe Erdoğan also highlights the border guard station in Neo Cheimonio as part of this infrastructure. https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/pushbacks-across-the-evros-meric-river-the-case-of-ayse-erdogan
8/ We used @UnrealEngine to model the vehicles in which witnesses were transported, as well as the attire and gear of the operatives who had pushed them back: Greek police, border guards, and military, and sometimes civilians and German speaking personnel.
9/ Witnesses also modelled the sequence of their pushback, the river landscapes that they were forced to cross, and the weather conditions at the time.
10/ What emerges is a picture of a violent practice where beatings are customary, at times amounting to torture. Beyond beatings, witnesses also described suffering from their prolonged exposure to the deadly river landscape.
11/ Mapping out the paths of the witnesses as they entered Greece and were repeatedly expelled, demonstrates that pushbacks in the region are both systematic and widespread, relying on a wide network of state and EU infrastructure, and multiple agencies and actors.
12/ We created an interface that allows viewers to navigate each testimony in chapters, access additional evidence and interact with the models built by each witness:
…https://chaptered-video.forensic-architecture.org/fady/
…https://chaptered-video.forensic-architecture.org/kuzey/
…https://chaptered-video.forensic-architecture.org/fady/
…https://chaptered-video.forensic-architecture.org/kuzey/
13/ This investigation is published along a report by @rights360 that consolidates more witness accounts and maps out the strategic policies that make crossing through Evros/Meriç hostile: https://www.humanrights360.org/defending-human-rights-in-times-of-border-militarization/
