2023-05-04

ISTANBUL/BELGRADE - This investigation uncovers that young Turkish citizens are increasingly using the Balkan route as a transit point to enter the EU illegally. The growing trend is due to crumbling purchasing power, high unemployment, and tense political environment in the country.

Using court documents and interviews with migrants, smugglers, police informants, taxi drivers, and human rights experts, the team has reconstructed the paths taken by Turkish citizens – from their first contacts with smugglers on social media, to ‘safe houses’ in Istanbul where payment changes hands, and the wilderness of northern Serbia where they reach the EU’s external border at Hungary and Croatia.

Illustration: ©Igor Vujcic/BIRN

Team members

Yagiz Alp Tekin

Yagiz Alp Tekin is a Turkish investigative documentary filmmaker. 

Yagiz Alp Tekin

Zeynep Sentek

Zeynep Sentek is a Turkish journalist based in Portugal.

Zeynep Sentek

Orhan Şener

Orhan Şener is a journalist based in Istanbul.

Orhan Şener

Saša Dragojlo

Saša Dragojlo is a Serbian investigative journalist.

Saša Dragojlo

Hamdi Firat Buyuk

Hamdi Firat Buyuk is a Bosnian political analyst and journalist.

Hamdi Firat Buyuk
Mentor

Edouard Perrin

Edouard Perrin is a French investigative reporter.

Edouard Perrin

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