A total of 17 asylum seekers, crossing the Aegean from Turkey by boat, reached the Chios coasts on Monday morning. The local Coast Guard patrolling the area located them as they were approaching the ‘Pounta’ beach at Oinousses and proceeded to their rescue. The 17 individuals were transferred to the Central Port Authority of Chios, where they are detained and questioned.

According to reports from the local media outlets, the asylum seekers claim to be Turkish officers, working in the judicial branch of the government, some of them high ranking, who fled the country to avoid persecution and imprisonment by the Erdogan government, which has been pursuing dissidents since the failed coup of July 2016.

Source: neoskosmos