The mystery of the identity of three bodies that had recently washed up on the shores of Lesvos at the Madamados beach has been solved after they were identified by the Greek authorities as belonging to a Turkish family fleeing persecution by the Erdogan regime. The family of five had been accused by the Erdogan regime of having ties with the Gulen group, which is blamed for the failed military coup attempt of July 15, 2016.

The family derived from the city of Kastamonu, on the north coast of Asia Minor in the Black Sea, and according to relatives had contacted human traffickers in an effort to cross over to the Greek island of Lesvos. According to the same sources, the traffickers demanded 5,000 euros to smuggle them into Greece, and the father reportedly bought a bought an old wooden boat for 1,000 euros.

The first body of the young girl washed up on November 5, while the body of the boy was found on November 10 and the male on November 11. The names of the victims are as follows: Hüseyin Maden (40) a physical education teacher, his wife Nur Maden (36), a kindergarten teacher, and the couple’s children Nadire Maden (13), Bahar Maden (10) and Feridun Maden (7).

The bodies were initially believed to belong to refugees, but after checking with officials with FRONTEX vessels patrolling the Aegean Sea it became apparent that no refugee boats had been detected in the region when the bodies were collected. The Turkish consulate in Rhodes was informed of the details of the bodies, which were buried at the Muslim refugee cemetery.