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Dam Press:
Greek authorities on Monday denied the validity of a new report accusing the Greek Coast Guard of “brutal” efforts to prevent migrants from reaching the country’s shores, leading to dozens of deaths and drownings.
The BBC reported that between 2020 and 2023, 15 incidents occurred in the waters of the Aegean islands east of Greece, in which 43 migrants were confirmed to have drowned, nine of whom were thrown into the water.
The report cited interviews with witnesses who confirmed that the Greek Coast Guard was responsible for the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over a three-year period, following reports by the media, charities and the Turkish Coast Guard.
In the new report, a Cameroonian man claimed that he and other migrants were arrested by masked men, including police officers, upon arriving on Samos.
The man said three people were put into a Coast Guard boat and thrown into the sea, where two others drowned.
The report also cited a Syrian man as saying he was part of a group captured by the Greek Coast Guard in waters near Rhodes.
He added that the survivors were placed on lifeboats and remained in Turkish waters, where one of the boats sank and many died before the Turkish Coast Guard arrived to rescue them.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis insisted at a news conference that there was no evidence to support the allegations.
“Our understanding is that what has been reported has not been substantiated,” he said. “Every complaint is considered and the outcome is made public.”
Marinakis added: “It is wrong to target the Greek Coast Guard and in any case we monitor every report and investigation, but I repeat: nothing (in the BBC report) is supported by any evidence.”
Greece is the main gateway for migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia seeking a better life in the European Union, with thousands sneaking into the country every year, most of them on small boats from neighboring Turkey. Relations with Turkey are often tense, with the two countries’ coast guards repeatedly accusing each other of mistreating migrants.
Migrant charities and human rights groups have repeatedly accused the Greek coast guard and police of forcibly sending illegally arrived migrants back into Turkish waters to discourage them from seeking asylum, something Greece denies, saying its border forces have saved hundreds of thousands of migrants from sinking boats.
Greece’s reputation took another hit in June 2023 when a wrecked fishing boat with an estimated 750 people aboard sank in waters off southwestern Greece, but the Greek Coast Guard monitored the vessel for hours. After the Coast Guard’s attempt to tow it failed, Greek authorities again denied the allegations.
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