Caught at Sea

In addition to summarily expelling migrants from inside Greek territory, Coast Guard personnel have also, at times, pushed migrants back from Greek territorial waters, in some cases puncturing inflatable boats or otherwise disabling them before setting them adrift near the Turkish coast. When intercepting migrants, Coast Guard forces usually make no effort to communicate with them or to do any screening to determine their possible needs for protection, according to migrant accounts. In some cases, migrants told Human Rights Watch they had been beaten and subjected to other forms of mistreatment before being pushed back to Turkey.

Abdullah (all names are pseudonyms), 14-year-old Afghan boy, told Human Rights Watch how the Greek Coast Guard [he calls them police] interdicted his boat, beat some of the migrants, took off the engine and the oars, punctured the boat, and set it adrift to sink:

“The police stripped us, except for our pants. They took all our possessions. When someone asked about his possessions, they kicked him. We were on the Coast Guard boat from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. The Coast Guard boat also carried our rubber boat. At 5 a.m., the police showed us the Turkish shore. The police put us back on our rubber boat. We had a small engine, but the police took the engine and the two oars. The police made a hole in the boat. When we were at sea before we were caught, the boat was okay, but when we were put back in the water, it was punctured. We tried to paddle with our hands.”