Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of March 2020

Case name: 2020_03_03-AEG658
Situation: 40 ppl (including 12 kids) attacked by Greek boat, pushed back to Turkey; 47 ppl (including 10 kids) attacked and pushed back to Turkey; two groups (25 travelers each) returned to Turkey after attack and shooting from Greek authorities.
Status of WTM Investigation: Under investigation
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases:
On 3rd of March, the Alarm Phone was alerted three times to cases of attack and distress in the Greek territorial waters of the Aegean Sea. The first call came in at 2:11h from a boat near Samos island, the second call reached us at 7:23h from the same region and the third call came in at 9:39h from near Kastellorizo. All boats had been attacked and pushed back to Turkey.

Case 1: Push back and shooting of 40 ppl (including 12 kids) from Samos

At 2:11h our shift team was alerted by a traveler on a boat on its way to Samos island. On the boat there were 40 people, among them 12 children. They were all from Syria. The travelers explained that they had been stopped by a big navy boat and then attacked by a white boat with Greek flag carrying masked men and a black highspeed boat. They pulled them back to Turkey. When the travelers couldn’t hold the rope and let go, the white boat shot in the sea round them. The second time they let go the rope, they were taken on board of the white ship and beaten. Then the masked men broke their engine, took their fuel and put them back in their dinghy. They tied the rope again and pulled them to Turkish waters. The people on the boat were urgently asking for help, as water was entering the boat and they couldn’t move. They estimated they would sink within the next thirty minutes. They said they were calling for help for one hour and no one had come to rescue them. At 02:18h, the Alarm Phone called the Turkish Coastguard and informed them about the distress. Shortly after, the people on the boat called us again. They were very scared to be attacked again by the Greeks. Some minutes later, they informed us that the Turkish Coastguard had arrived, and the Greek boats had left. They were intercepted and brought back to Turkey where they were detained for two hours.

Case 2: Push back and beating of 47 ppl (including 10 kids) from Samos

At 7:23h our shift team received another call from a group of 47 travelers in distress, among them 10 children. The group was from Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan and African countries. Their GPS location showed them in Greek waters close to Samos island. Shortly after, we informed the Greek Coastguard and passed them all information and the GPS location. They stated that the boat was in Turkish waters and informed us that they had a vessel in the area. We should inform the Turkish Coastguard, they said. At 8:08h we called the Greek Coastguard again to ask for an update on the rescue. They repeated that the only boat in that area they had spotted was in Turkish waters and thus had to be rescued by the Turkish Coastguard. At 8:13h we called the Turkish Coastguard and passed them all information. They confirmed that the initial position we had passed to the Greek Coastguard was in Greek waters. They assumed that the boat might have drifted back to the Turkish side in the meantime. When we called the Turkish Coastguard again at 8:40h, they confirmed a rescue in the given area. We could not re-establish the contact to the people for the next hours. At 13:53h we reached them and learned that they had been transferred to detention after their interception by Turkish coast guards but got released already.
Later during follow-up, we were informed that the boat had been stopped by a big white boat with many different flags near to Samos island. There were about 15 officers visible on board, half of which were masked. They pointed their guns on the refugee dinghy which had also pregnant ladies and disabled on board and took their fuel. Then they tied a rope on the boat and started pulling it. When the rope broke, the travellers were ordered to hold it. When they let the rope go, they took them on board and beat each of the travellers. A highspeed boat arrived and took the refugee dinghy away towards Samos. The travellers waited 2 hours on board of the big ship, until the highspeed boat returned with their dinghy. The travellers were put placed back in their dinghy which was full with sea water now. Then both boats left. The travellers stayed 1 ½ hours adrift unable to move. The white boat returned and stayed nearby just watching. For two hours they had to wait for the Turkish coast guard to save them.

Case 3: Push back and shooting of 25 ppl from Kastellorizo

At 9:39h, we were informed about two boats, carrying 25 travelers each, the first of which had been attacked on the way towards Kastellorizo island, Greece. The person we were talking to had been in the second boat which was following and returned voluntarily, when they saw the first boat being attacked. They had reached the Turkish coast at the moment of the call. They reported that the two boats had left from Turkey and the first was shot at by the Greek Coastguard. One or two people on this first boat were injured. The person who called us could not provide us a phone number from the other boat and had lost contact to them, but assumed that they were still out at sea, had run out of fuel and were in need of medical emergency care. At 10h our shift team called the Greek Coastguard, asking for a rescue operation for these people. They stated they would only send out a rescue vessel if we provided them with GPS coordinates of the boat in Greek waters. They also denied having come across any boat in the area concerned, and advised us to next inform the Turkish Coastguard. We tried to contact the port police of Kastellorizo but they refused to talk to us about the case. Eventually, also the second boat returned to Turkey and the two injured men are said to be treated in a hospital. No contact could be established with the first boat until today.