Report sees Turkish link in Somali migrant transfers
A report by Greek security and intelligence services highlights the existence of an organized network behind migrant transfers from Somalia to Greece via Istanbul.
The network is said to include the Turkish Consulate, Erdogan Hospital and City University in Mogadishu, as well as Turkish-based Islamic nongovernmental organizations.
The conclusions of the secret report, which has been seen by Kathimerini, were also clearly hinted at last Tuesday by Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, who stressed that out of the 214 illegal immigrants who arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos in November, 142 are Somali nationals.
According to the report, migrants travel from Somalia to Istanbul on a student or medical visa, obtained either by a fake diploma from City University, which is a Turkish institution, or by false medical certificates from Erdogan Hospital.
