14/04: Around 50 travellers pushed violently back to Turkey by Greek authorities North of Lesvos

15.04.2021 / 17:06 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 14th of April 2021

Case name: 2021_04_14-AEG783

Situation: 50 travellers pushed back by Greek authorities north of Lesvos. One traveller beaten and thrown in the water.


Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On Wednesday the 14th of April 2021 at 09.14h CEST, the Alarm Phone shift team was contacted directly by a group of around 50 travellers, including 16 children, in distress in the Aegean sea north of Lesvos. They forwarded us their GPS position, showing that they were in Turkish waters, explaining that they had entered Greek waters but had been pushed back by the Greek authorities. In a call to the travellers at 09.50h CEST they told us that the Turkish authorities were blocking their way back to the Turkish coast, telling them to enter back into Greek waters. The travellers were therefore again moving in the direction of Lesvos. At 10.00h CEST we sent an email to both Greek and Turkish coastguards, as well as UNHCR, alerting them to the distress of the travellers. Five minutes later we forwarded the information to MRCC Piraeus via phone as well. At 10.07h CEST we called the Turkish coastguard, and they told us that they had two vessels on site and were waiting for more information about the situation. At 10.38h CEST we reveived an email from the Turkish coastguard, informing us that they had rescued the travellers and were bringing them to Çanakkale, which they confirmed to us on the phone, stating that all travellers were safe and in a good health condition.

Later, we spoke to the travellers again, and they recounted the events of the pushback. They told us that the Greek authorities had pushed them back. In doing so, they had dragged one of the travellers onboard their boat, beaten him severely and then thrown him back in the water. The rest of the travellers had then rescued him from the water.

From staying in touch with the travellers, we witnessed how this violent incident seriously affected their mental health. We are still investigation the details of this situation and might update this report accordingly.
Last update: 01:07 Aug 25, 2021
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
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  • Border police patrols
     
    While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
  • Coastal radars
     
    Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone
     
    Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
  • Frontex operations
     
    Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
  • Mobile phone coverage
     
    Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
  • Oil and gas platforms
     
    Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
  • Search and Rescue Zone
     
    An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
  • Territorial Waters
     
    A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans