The European Union's border agency Frontex has been involved in Greece's illegal pushback of over 900 asylum-seekers in the Aegean Sea, according to a new investigation, a French daily reported Thursday.
According to the findings of a joint investigation carried out by France's Le Monde newspaper, German weekly Der Spiegel, Swiss news outlets SRF Rundschau and Republik, and Netherlands-based Lighthouse Reports, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) was involved in 22 pushbacks between March 2020 and September 2021.
Frontex recorded the incidents – in which at least 957 asylum-seekers were taken off dinghies, put into Greek life rafts and left adrift at sea – as "prevention of departure," the investigation underlined.
Speaking to SRF, Nula Frei, an expert in migration law at Switzerland's University of Fribourg, said Greece carried out pushbacks without giving people the chance to go through an asylum procedure, which is not permissible under international law.
SRF, however, drew attention to the fact that Greece has denied allegations of pushbacks, despite the presence of proof and complaints by Turkey and numerous international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
Republik furthermore maintained that in at least two cases, the asylum-seekers, including women and children, who had already landed on a Greek island, were then illegally dumped in Turkish waters.
Even these clearly unlawful cases were labeled in Frontex's database as "prevention of departure," it noted.
On March 17, publishing the findings of an investigation by OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud watchdog, Der Spiegel revealed that Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri and other top officials not only knew of but also covered up the Greek pushbacks in the Aegean Sea.
Human rights advocates and leading media outlets have frequently reported illegal pushbacks and other rights breaches by Greek authorities violating EU and international law.
Besides seaborne pushbacks, Greek border forces are also accused of apprehending and forcibly expelling migrants who manage to cross into the country by land.
In February, at least 19 irregular migrants were found frozen to death near the Turkish-Greek border after being pushed back to Turkey by Greece.
Turkish officials criticized Athens for the inhumane and degrading treatment of irregular migrants, saying those who were found dead had been stripped of their clothes and shoes by the Greek border guards. Greece denied any involvement.
Commenting on the incident, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the EU's border protection agency Frontex for cooperating with Greece and the bloc for turning a blind eye to the deaths of migrants.
Turkey and Greece have been key transit points for migrants aiming to cross into Europe, fleeing war and persecution to start new lives. The journey of hope for irregular migrants either ends in the blue waters of the Aegean or turns into a nightmare due to the inhumane practices of Greek coast guard units. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers have made the short but perilous journey across the Aegean to reach Northern and Western Europe in search of a better life. Hundreds of people have died at sea as many boats carrying refugees often sink or capsize. The Turkish Coast Guard Command has rescued thousands of others.
Turkey and many international human rights groups have accused Greece of large-scale pushbacks and summary deportations without migrants being given access to asylum procedures, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children. They also accuse the European Union of turning a blind eye to this blatant abuse of human rights.
Greece’s pushbacks of irregular migrants increased by 97% in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to a report by the Norwegian nongovernmental organization (NGO) Aegean Boat Report, which monitors the movement of migrants in the area.