Turkish deputy prime minister has warned that those behind human trafficking of asylum seekers risked facing "terrorism" charges in Turkey.
Addressing a gathering of foreign journalists in the Turkish capital Ankara Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the Council of Ministers has been working on a law that will consider human trafficking of migrants from Turkey into Europe as a "terror" crime.
"These actions are going to be considered under [Turkey’s] penal code," Kurtulmus said.
Kurtulmus said approximately 4,800 such traffickers were caught during 2015 and half of them were arrested.
Most migrants and refugees attempting to reach Europe via Turkey must do so by arranging a treacherous boat passage with black market, mafia-style smugglers that often charge upwards of $1,000 per person.
Turkey has pledged to curb the numbers of refugees reaching Europe, in exchange for financial assistance from the European Union to handle its existing 2.5 million refugee population at home.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.
