According to media reports, the Greek police are using refugees at the EU’s external border to illegally reject asylum seekers – so-called pushbacks. Several refugees were therefore urged to forcibly return people to Turkey. In return they received a residence permit. Pushback helpers are said to have been recruited from smugglers in Istanbul.
According to a report by “Spiegel”, the Greek police want to protect their own agents with this approach – the pushbacks are considered very dangerous. The German magazine had investigated the practices together with ARD, Lighthouse Reports, Le Monde and the Guardian.
Cooperation with people smugglers
The actions of the Greek police are well known in villages near the border: farmers and fishermen allowed to enter the restricted area on the river Evros have repeatedly seen refugees working for the police. Three Greek police officers also confirmed the practice to reporters. According to refugees and local residents, a Syrian, with whom the police cooperates, plays an important role. According to the report, he worked with people smugglers in Istanbul to get pushback helpers and was very violent towards asylum seekers.
Under European law, Greece must allow asylum seekers who reach Greek territory to apply for asylum, but this law has been ignored for years. “This action is a breach of all the values we represent in the European Union,” the German government’s human rights commissioner Luise Amtsberg told reporters. The practice cannot be surpassed in terms of its abyss and perfidy.
“systematic problem”
In April, the Council of Europe denounced a sharp increase in illegal refusals of asylum seekers in European countries. These human rights violations have become a “systematic, pan-European problem”. In some countries, the use of violence against migrants is therefore the order of the day.
The conservative Greek government is especially praised by its European party friends for its refugee policy. Austria is also one of the defenders of Greece’s refugee policy, although the government in Athens boasts that fewer migrants arrive than deportations and voluntary departures to other EU countries.
Sobotka defends refugee policy
National Council chairman Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) also defended Greek politics against criticism on Monday during talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Erdogan launched a “swipe to Greece” that “would do the pushbacks and that Frontex is watching too,” Sobotka said in an interview with Austrian journalists. “I have a different view on things, that we are very committed to the refugee agreement with Turkey,” the former interior minister said.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
