Greece pushes asylum seekers into Turkish waters at gunpoint

ARK News… Greek authorities, on Thursday, pushed a boat carrying 27 asylum-seekers, mostly Palestinian refugees, into Turkish territorial waters, after removing their boat's engine and stealing mobile phones.

The Action Group for the Palestinians of Syria quoted activists from the ABR Foundation, which is active in monitoring the movement of refugees, as saying: "The boat set off from Dikili, Turkey, at dawn on Thursday, and it had almost reached the southern shores of Lesvos Island when it was stopped by a ship from the Greek Coast Guard."

It added: "Masked men from the Coast Guard ship removed the engine and petrol, and forced the passengers at gunpoint to hand over their bags, phones and other belongings before they began towing them towards Turkish waters. Officers from the Greek Coast Guard ship cut the rope and left people, men, women, and children drifting helplessly and powerless in the midst of the sea.”

It continued, "One of the passengers managed to hide his phone, and later used it to request help from the Turkish Coast Guard, who rescued them and returned them to Turkish territory."

The Foundation described what the Greek Coast Guard did as a direct violation of international law, and called on the European Union to put an end to the Greek violations against asylum seekers, and if it does not put an end to this, the boats will continue to be found after they drift in the water.

smuggling routes to Europe

Greece, Italy, and Spain are among the most attractive countries for refugees from Africa and the Middle East who want to reach the European Union.

Smugglers often take the longer and more dangerous route south, departing from Lebanon rather than Turkey to avoid European patrols in the Aegean Sea to reach Italy, according to Greek officials.

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