Greece denies allegations of forcefully returning migrants with violence

Greece denied accusations of forced returns of migrants made by the BBC at a press briefing on Monday. BBC alleged that the Greek coastguard’s brutality towards migrants resulted in the deaths of 43 migrants within three years from May 2020 to May 2023, in a report released on Monday.

The BBC report analyzed 15 incidents occurring off Greece’s Aegean Sea islands within the three years, the most notable occurring in September 2022. In the tragedy, the engine on a boat carrying 85 migrants failed resulting in the highest loss of life throughout the three-year period. According to testimony in the report, the Greek coastguard returned the migrants to Turkish waters and placed them in life rafts which immediately began to sink.

The Greek coastguard denied the BBC’s accusations, stating that the team has rescued 250,834 migrants in 6,161 incidents at sea, which fulfilled its duty under international law and the international community has always recognized the coastguards’ efforts positively.

At the press briefing on Monday, the Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis echoed the same sentiment when asked to comment on the BBC Report, emphasizing the coastguards’ positive role in dismantling trafficking groups and saving dozens of lives every day and that the allegations have not been proven.

The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law, through Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in European law, through Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Apart from international treaties, Greek law also allows asylum seekers to register their claim to seek asylum in different centres across the islands.

In June 2023, a month after the BBC’s report concluded, a fishing trawler named the Adriana sank whilst carrying 750 people off the coast of Pylos, Greece. According to research by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, failures by the Greek coastguard contributed to the ship’s sinking and the death of more than 600 people. As of today, one year on from the tragedy, a Greek Naval Court’s investigation into the potential liability of the Greek Coastguard is only in its preliminary stages.

Judith Sutherland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said:

It is unconscionable that one year since this horrific tragedy the investigation into the potential liability of the Hellenic Coast Guard has barely progressed. We need to see a credible process for accountability and an end to the cycle of violence and impunity at Greece’s borders.