Exposing the violence of the Greek Coast Guard against the refugees

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, weekly “Spiegel” wrote in an article: The results of an investigation show that the Greek coast guard is responsible for the deaths of a large number of migrants. This is what the British BBC reported in one of its recent investigations. The BBC investigated 15 incidents that occurred between May 2020 and 2023. It is said that a total of 43 people were killed in these incidents.

The BBC confirms the investigation of “Spiegel” and the non-profit organization Lighthouse Reports from 2022. Der Spiegel has published a comprehensive report on the brutal actions of the Greek coast guard against asylum seekers. The Greeks have been thrown directly into the sea. According to eyewitnesses, nine people died after being deliberately thrown into the water. The nine were among more than 40 asylum seekers said to have died after being pushed out of Greek territorial waters or returned to sea after reaching the Greek islands, a BBC analysis shows. .

In some cases, it is said that the migrants even made it to the Greek mainland and were then chased by members of the coast guard and pushed out to sea.

>

A man from Cameroon tells the BBC that he arrived on the island of Samos in September 2021 when the security forces chased him. Explaining the attack, the man said: We had barely landed when the police arrived. The security forces were dressed in black, some in civilian clothes, “they were also masked, you could only see their eyes.”

He emphasized that then he and The other two men were put on a coast guard boat and thrown into the sea. According to this Cameroonian refugee, one of his colleagues asked for help because he did not know how to swim. He, who witnessed the incident, said: His hand slowly slipped under the surface of the water and soon he completely went under the water. According to his own account, he was able to swim to shore on his own again. The identities of the other two asylum seekers were later confirmed by the Turkish Coast Guard, meaning they found the drowned men.

The Greek government has long been accused of pushing back The entry of refugees into Turkey is an illegal act according to international law. The Greek coast guard has said it categorically denies all allegations by the BBC of illegal activity. Migrants repeatedly accuse the authorities of violence and failure to help.

In four other cases, people seeking protection told the BBC that they were on the islands. They landed in Greece and were then hunted there. In several other cases, migrants said they were placed on inflatable boats without engines, which then lost air or appeared to have holes.

Greece, along with Italy and Spain, is one of the main countries of arrival of tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East who want to come to Europe.

The occurrence of another refugee tragedy on the coast of Italy

Meanwhile, the media reported another boat accident. among asylum seekers seeking protection in the Central Mediterranean.

Refugees frequently try to cross the Central Mediterranean by boat to Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily or Go to mainland Italy. This issue often leads to boat accidents with a large number of dead and missing.

At least 11 migrants died in two boat accidents in the Mediterranean Sea. As the German rescue organization Rechship and the Italian Coast Guard announced, these boats had an accident on the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa and the Calabria region in southern Italy. Rescuers were also searching for dozens missing.

The crew of the Nadir motor ship rescued 51 people from a wooden boat between Libya and Lampedusa, the ship said. According to published information, there were ten dead on the lower deck of the boat, which was already full of water. Sailing on the coast of Calabria has saved. One of the passengers died during the rescue operation. As the Italian news agency Ansa reported, rescuers were also looking for about 50 missing people who survivors said had fallen into the sea.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) IOM), the Central Mediterranean is one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. According to the IOM report, in 2023 alone, 3,155 people died while fleeing the Mediterranean Sea.

end of message/