Turkish Navy detects Greece’s pushbacks of migrants

İZMİR – Demirören News Agency

A Turkish Navy drone has monitored and recorded the moments a Greek coast guard boat pushing two dinghies filled with migrants to Turkish waters.

In a statement published late on July 17, the Turkish Defense Minister said the incident took place in the western side of the Dilek Strait in the Aegean Sea.”

“One of our drones have recorded LS-930, a Greek coast guard vessel, pushing back irregular migrants’ boats to Turkish waters,” it said.

Migrants ‘saved’

Highlighting that the incident is also a violation of territorial waters, the ministry added, “Turkish coast guard command have been warned and the irregular migrants were saved.”

Greece has pushed back nearly 42,000 asylum seekers since 2020, according to a new report published by Türkiye’s Ombudsman Institution.

According to the report, titled “Pushbacks and Drowning Human Rights in the Aegean Sea,” exposing the violation of international immigration law by Greece, Greek forces pushed back a total of 41,523 asylum seekers between 2020 and May 31, 2022.

“Some 98 percent of the pushbacks involved torture and ill-treatment, and 88 percent of the 8,000 asylum seekers who came to the Greek border were beaten,” the report said.