video accuses country of illegally returning migrants

On images filmed on April 11 by an activist, we see an unmarked white truck and twelve people getting out of it as they go. There are women, children and a baby a few months old. The small group is escorted to shore by masked men to board a boat with no idea of ​​its destination. These migrants had managed to reach Lesbos (Greece) the day before and were hiding in the brush. The boat sets sail before passengers are disembarked on a larger Greek Coast Guard vessel, then launched on an inflatable boat and set adrift.

A very ancient Greek practice?

“Of course what I saw was a crime. They kidnapped people, broke international laws, like the Geneva Convention. They did not even give them the chance to apply for asylum”, explains activist Fayad Mulla. The group is pushed into Turkish waters, an illegal practice, before the Turks come to their aid. New York Times reporters tracked them down to a detention center in Turkey. “We didn’t expect to survive that day. When they put us on the inflatable raft, they did it with no mercy”, says one of them. According to the specialized journalist, Tomas Statius, this is the first video that traces in its entirety such an operation, but the practice is not new. According to the American daily, the European Commission expressed concern about these images and promised to contact the Greek authorities, who did not respond to requests from journalists.