Sending people back to Turkey ‘places most vulnerable at risk’

A draft European Union plan to send back some migrants to Turkey has legal and moral flaws and could put vulnerable people at risk, the head of Amnesty International said, calling on Europe to take in more people seeking refuge instead.

Under a tentative deal struck last Monday, Turkey agreed to take back illegal migrants who enter Europe from Turkey, in exchange for more funding, an earlier introduction of visa-free travel to Europe for Turks, and a speeding up of Ankara’s long-stalled EU membership talks.

“It’s flawed, morally and legally,” Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty said in Dubai.