Refugees ‘tortured and beaten by Greek soldiers’ before being sent back to Turkey

Greece has announced a crackdown after struggling to cope with the number of migrants.

Bruised and bandaged, a group of refugees show off the injuries they claim were caused by Greek soldiers.

One says he was blindfolded and burnt with a cigarette while another said his foot ended up broken in several places.

A third migrant claims the authorities confiscated his money and clothes while others say they have been hit over the head with sticks.

Their allegations form part of a growing number of complaints made against Greek soldiers at the border with Turkey.

In the past year, hundreds of people claim to have been tortured and abused before being physically pushed back over the border.

Under international law, Greece is obliged to register any illegal immigrant that enters its territory.

But Turkey claims they forcibly reject them and this year alone they allege Greece returned some 25,404 undocumented migrants.

That figure has not been independently verified but there are allegations of severe abuse, which includes withholding food and water.

Musaddiq Javed from Pakistan was one of 30 men who entered Greece last week on foot.

He said the group were arrested as they walked towards Xanthi but the police handed them over to Greek soldiers who allegedly ripped the Turkish liras they found on them.

He recalled: ‘The soldiers brought me in a room and blindfolded me. They then burned my hand with a cigarette and kicked my feet.’

He said they were made to walk back into Turkey and eventually reached a village where local residents gave them clothes.

Muhammed added: ‘The doctor told me that I had three broken bones on my foot and that it would need surgery. I had the surgery and stayed in the hospital for a week.’

The men are now staying at a refugee centre in Turkey after receiving medical treatment while the Greek authorities have yet to comment on the claims.

Greece is struggling with the number of refugees on both the mainland and the islands.

It has camps on five Aegean islands (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros) with an official capacity of 6,178 people.

Two days ago it was holding 35,590 men, women and children in unsanitary and dangerous conditions.

The Greek government has pledged a crackdown and plans to convert the refugee camps into detention centres.

Human rights groups say it would make it easier for Greece to detain asylum seekers for longer and scrap protections for already vulnerable people.

Turkey and the EU signed a refugee deal in March 2016 which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea.

People arriving by boat to the Greek islands were to be returned to Turkey in exchange for EU nations to take Syrian refugees from Turkey.