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| Stranded migrants sew mouths shut in protest against Balkan border controls | Stranded migrants sew mouths shut in protest against Balkan border controls |
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| Moroccans, Iranians and Pakistanis on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia have blocked rail traffic and demanded passage to western Europe, stranded by a policy of filtering migrants in the Balkans that has raised human rights concerns. | Moroccans, Iranians and Pakistanis on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia have blocked rail traffic and demanded passage to western Europe, stranded by a policy of filtering migrants in the Balkans that has raised human rights concerns. |
| Six Iranians sewed their mouths shut during the protest. Asked where he wanted to go, one of the Iranian men – a 34-year-old electrical engineer named Hamid – said: “To any free country in the world. I cannot go back. I will be hanged.” | Six Iranians sewed their mouths shut during the protest. Asked where he wanted to go, one of the Iranian men – a 34-year-old electrical engineer named Hamid – said: “To any free country in the world. I cannot go back. I will be hanged.” |
| Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them Syrians fleeing war, have made the trek across the Balkan peninsula after arriving by boat and dinghy in Greece from Turkey, and headed for the more affluent countries of northern and western Europe, mainly Germany and Sweden. | |
| Related: Greek concerns mount over refugees as Balkan countries restrict entry | Related: Greek concerns mount over refugees as Balkan countries restrict entry |
| Last week, however, Slovenia, a member of Europe’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel, declared it would only grant passage to those fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and that all others deemed “economic migrants” would be sent back. | Last week, however, Slovenia, a member of Europe’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel, declared it would only grant passage to those fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and that all others deemed “economic migrants” would be sent back. |
| That prompted others on the route – Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia – to do the same, leaving growing numbers stranded in tents and around campfires on Balkan borders with winter approaching. | That prompted others on the route – Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia – to do the same, leaving growing numbers stranded in tents and around campfires on Balkan borders with winter approaching. |
| Rights groups have questioned the policy, insisting that asylum should be granted on merit, not on the basis of nationality. | |
| “To classify a whole nation as economic migrants is not a principle recognised in international law,” said Rados Djurovic, director of the Belgrade-based Asylum Protection Centre. “We risk violating human rights and asylum law,” he told Serbian state television. | “To classify a whole nation as economic migrants is not a principle recognised in international law,” said Rados Djurovic, director of the Belgrade-based Asylum Protection Centre. “We risk violating human rights and asylum law,” he told Serbian state television. |
| The new measure coincides with rising concern, particularly on the political right in Europe, over the security risk of the chaotic and often unchecked flow of humanity into Europe in the aftermath of the attacks in Paris by Islamist militants in which 130 people died. | The new measure coincides with rising concern, particularly on the political right in Europe, over the security risk of the chaotic and often unchecked flow of humanity into Europe in the aftermath of the attacks in Paris by Islamist militants in which 130 people died. |
| It has emerged that two suicide bombers involved in the attacks took the same trail, arriving by boat in Greece and then travelling north across the Balkans. Most of the attackers, however, were citizens of France or Belgium. | It has emerged that two suicide bombers involved in the attacks took the same trail, arriving by boat in Greece and then travelling north across the Balkans. Most of the attackers, however, were citizens of France or Belgium. |
| On the Macedonian-Greek border, crowds of Moroccans, Iranians and others blocked the railway line running between the two countries, halting at least one train that tried to cross, a Reuters photographer said. | On the Macedonian-Greek border, crowds of Moroccans, Iranians and others blocked the railway line running between the two countries, halting at least one train that tried to cross, a Reuters photographer said. |
| A group of Bangladeshis had stripped to the waist and written slogans on their chests in red paint. “Shoot us, we never go back,” read one. “Shoot us or save us,” read another. | A group of Bangladeshis had stripped to the waist and written slogans on their chests in red paint. “Shoot us, we never go back,” read one. “Shoot us or save us,” read another. |