the coast guards are accused of illegal practices in their management of migratory flows

Greece is one of the main destinations for migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean. The Greek coast guard has the daily responsibility of handling this migratory flow and their method tends to be increasingly contested.

Since the start of 2024, official Greek figures indicate the arrival of 11,300 new asylum seekers and the coast guards are notably accused of being passive or of practicing “push back”, a method which consists of pushing certain boats out of territorial waters. A way of pushing back the problem and discreetly delegating the management of these boats to other countries, which is illegal and particularly dangerous.

These suspicions were recently raised in the country, during the trial of those responsible for the sinking of the Adriana, which cost the lives of 600 migrants in June 2023 in the Aegean Sea. This trial convinced no one, including the Greek justice system, since the nine Egyptian citizens accused of being involved in the tragedy were acquitted.

Even before the hearings began, the defense mentioned “a parody of a trial” and several NGOs, including Amnesty International, considered that no serious investigation had been carried out into the intervention of the coast guards on the day of the tragedy.

A collective complaint was filed last week, accusing the Greek navy of passivity, and a BBC documentary, broadcast on June 17, goes even further, with an investigation carried out into 15 incidents, between 2020 and 2023, which highlights shed light on the illegal actions of the Greek authorities.

During one of the interviews, the BBC journalist submits a video to the former head of Greek special operations, Dimitri Baltakos, in which his colleagues force migrants onto a makeshift raft before abandoning them outside the waters territorial.

The former coast guard ends up speaking in his native language, convinced that his microphone is no longer recording. “Do you think I said too much? Of course it’s very clear, but what do you want me to tell them… Why did the guys do it in broad daylight? Of course it did. is illegal and of course it is an international crime.”

Several testimonies confirm this method of refoulement practiced by the Greek authorities. In the documentary Dead calm, Killing in the Medmigrants also accuse the coast guards four times of having thrown them overboard, into the waters of the Mediterranean.