Apart from the general number of refugees requesting asylum in Greece, there has been a recent rise in Turkish citizens fleeing to the neighbouring country.
The Times report that the main reasons pushing Turks to seek refuge in Greece is the government’s clampdown on president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political opponents and the faltering economy.
Following the failed coup against Erdoğan in 2016 the constant plummeting of the Turkish lira defections are on the rise.
More than 20 Turks are reportedly requesting asylum in Greece on a daily basis, with the main point of entry being the border region of Evros.
Solely in July police recorded 687 arrests and subsequent asylum requests by Turkish citizens, placing them on the second largest group of nationals requesting refuge in Greece after Syrians.
In the first half of 2018, border control authorities reported that 1,839 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in Greece compared to only 43 in 2015.
Meanwhile, the number has doubled from 2017 when a total of 1,800 Turks submitted such requests during the whole of last year.
