Aegean Boat Report has reported on two occations on a pushback from Kalymnos on December 5th, when a boat carrying 31 people arrived on Kalymnos, and was pushback back in two groups, 17 people, women and children was found in a life raft outside Didim on December 6th, and 11 men was picked up from two life rafts outside Bodrum December 8th.
The men was separated from the rest of the group because they refused to be forced in life rafts, a witness from the other group told that she observed men on the boat being beaten severely by masked men from the Hellenic coast guard, before they left the woman and children in the life raft, and took the men back towards land. Her story has been difficult to verify until Turkish coast guard published the video from December 8th, when the men was picked up, the men in the video is identical with the men seen in the video taken on Kalymnos December 6th.
11 men was picked up, all showing clear signs of physical violent abuse, broken bones, skull fractures, head injuries and bruises all over their body, they seemed disoriented, some not able to walk. They explained that they first where beaten on board the Hellenic coast guard vessel on the 6th of December, later in a small camp by the sea, where they where held in two days, without food or water. They explained that the camp had the sign “ΕΦ ΚΑΛΟΛΙΜΝΟΥ”, ΕΦ is short for National Guard, and ΚΑΛΟΛΙΜΝΟΥ, Kaloliminid/Kalolimnos is a small island east of Kalymnos that house an army military base.
The men have been victims of torture, first when violently abuse over several days, then when placed in two life rafts and left drifting at sea by the Hellenic coast guard. This is the most violent pushback Aegean Boat Report have documented so far, that normal people are capable of such atrocities is difficult to fathom, performed by the Hellenic coast guard on order’s from the Greek government.
The Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarachis, is proud of their achievements when speaking about how they have drastically reduced arrivals on the Greek Aegean islands. He speaks little of how this was done, that it was achieved by breaking international laws, violating human rights and torture, he strangely enough forgot to mention. This is the true face of the ruling party in Greece, New Democracy!
Push-backs are happening every single day in the Aegean Sea, and Greece will continue this inhuman practice, systematically violate people’s human rights, until Europe once again decides to put human rights back on the agenda. Everyone is looking the other way, hoping that things will change, without their involvement, it won’t.. At the moment the Greek government is a disgrace, and embarrassment, not only for Europe but for the Greek people, it will forever be a stain on history.
The case previously published on Aegean Boat Report December 10th: https://www.facebook.com/285298881993223/posts/988631451659959/?d=n
Published by the Turkis coast guard regarding this incident: 06 Aralık 2020 Tarihinde Kurtarılan 17 ve 08 Aralık 2020 Tarihinde Kurtarılan 11 Düzensiz Göçmen Hakkında (sg.gov.tr)