12 illegal migrants detected at Slovenian Koper port

Slovenian police detected 12 illegal migrants at the port of Koper on Monday aboard a cargo ship coming from Turkey, and have taken them to an asylum center on their wishes.

Of the 12 asylum seekers, the Koper Police Administration said, nine are Syrian and three Iraqi citizens. They boarded the ship with the help of two Turkish deck-hands, who were both taken into police custody and face criminal charges.

Slovenia has received 612 applications for asylum so far this year, mostly from nationals of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, granting asylum to 58 persons, Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported quoting Interior Ministry data.

The wave of illegal migrations through Slovenia has stopped since the EU-Turkey deal effectively closed the Balkan migration route in March, but smaller groups of illegal migrants are still sporadically intercepted.

The STA also reported that a new group of 32 asylum seekers is expected to arrive in Slovenia under an EU-sponsored relocation plan in mid-August. Out of those relocated in May, 23 have been granted asylum.

Slovenia has agreed to accept a total of 567 refugees who are currently located in Greece and Italy this and next year, with arrivals in small groups.

The first group of 34 asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Eritrea arrived in Slovenia in May, with the next group, numbering 32, due from Greece in mid-August, the STA report said according to the Interior Ministry. Endit