On Saturday, September 6, just after midnight, Aegean Boat Report was contacted by several people after they had arrived on the Greek island of Farmakonisi.
Farmakonisi is a Greek military outpost in the Aegean Sea. Besides the military base, there are no inhabitants on the island.
Since the island lies close to Turkey, people attempting to cross into Europe frequently arrive there — especially at night, in the dark, believing they have found safety. But arriving on Farmakonisi does not mean safety.
Some groups arriving are transferred to the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) on Leros. Others are robbed, beaten, stripped of their belongings, forced back to sea, and left drifting in life rafts. It seems almost random who gets what treatment.
This group of 19 people, who contacted us on Saturday, September 6, ended up in a life raft. Another group that arrived the next day was transferred to Leros.
We received pictures, videos, and location data from the Saturday group — there was no doubt they were on Farmakonisi.
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Disappearance
Since Farmakonisi is a military zone, no one except Greek authorities is allowed there. There are also no private rescue vessels in the Aegean Sea, meaning that when people arrive on this island, options are extremely limited.
When people contact us from Farmakonisi, our only advice is to call 112 and walk towards the military camp to make their presence known.
To advise people to walk straight into the lion’s den isn’t something we do lightly.
But hiding is not an option: there are no trees, no caves, no water, no food. Avoiding detection means risking death by dehydration or starvation.
This group did exactly that: they called 112, then started walking towards the camp. Shortly after, they were stopped by armed men in military uniforms.
At 02:31 local time, all phones went offline.
From that moment, we lost all contact.
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Tracing the Group
We searched for them.
• We checked Leros, but no record of transfer existed.
• We contacted the Turkish Coast Guard — nothing.
• We feared they had disappeared completely.
Then, on Sunday morning at 09:10, the Turkish Coast Guard announced that they had rescued 19 people from a life raft drifting outside Bodrum, Turkey.
On Monday, we received pictures and videos from the rescued group. We could confirm without any doubt:
It was the same people who had contacted us from Farmakonisi.
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Deliberate Abandonment at Sea
Due to weather conditions around Farmakonisi, the Greek Coast Guard transported the group over 35 nautical miles before abandoning them at sea outside Bodrum.
This was not accidental — it was calculated.
If they had deployed the life raft near Farmakonisi, wind and current would have pushed it back towards Greece.
By leaving them near Bodrum, they ensured Turkish waters would take them.
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What the Victims Say
One of the survivors gave us this testimony:
“On Friday at 12 midnight we were on a Greek island.
I sent the location and called three organizations, including yours.
On the island, the army police caught us and kept us overnight in a dark room.
They took all our belongings — money, phones, clothes, everything.
They told us a ship would take us to Leros island. A big ship came with four men.
They handed over all our money, phones, and bags to them.
We were told we would be taken to Leros — but they lied.
Instead, they took us back into Turkish waters, inflated a rubber boat, put all of us into it, and left us drifting.”
The boat described was a Lambro 57 coastal patrol vessel belonging to the Greek Coast Guard.
“The color of their clothes was dark blue.
They wore masks and black gloves.
They said nothing more.
Thank you for investigating and for wanting these people to be held accountable.”
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A Systematic, Illegal Policy
This is not an isolated incident.
This is systematic.
This is policy.
For over five years, Greek authorities have denied involvement in illegal pushbacks, despite overwhelming evidence proving otherwise.
But Greece is not acting alone.
European Complicity
• The European Commission funds these operations, framing them as “border management.”
• Frontex, the EU’s border agency, has been repeatedly documented participating in and covering up pushbacks.
• These acts are carried out in the name of European taxpayers, using EU-funded vessels, EU-funded personnel, and EU-funded policies.
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Violation of International & European Law
These actions blatantly violate multiple legal frameworks:
• 1951 Geneva Convention – guarantees the right to seek asylum.
• European Convention on Human Rights – prohibits refoulement and inhumane treatment.
• EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – Article 18 protects the right to asylum.
• UNCLOS & SOLAS Maritime Conventions – obligate rescue at sea, not abandonment.
By forcing people back to Turkey, stripping them of their belongings, and abandoning them in unseaworthy life rafts, Greek authorities — supported and funded by the EU — are committing grave breaches of international and European law.
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Where Do We Go From Here?
Is this normal behaviour for a European Union member state?
Is it acceptable for a coast guard to deliberately put lives at risk instead of rescuing people?
Is this what Europe has become?
These are not European values.
At least, not the Europe we believed in.
Somewhere along the way, we became cold.
Somewhere along the way, we stopped seeing people as human beings.
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Our Work Continues
At Aegean Boat Report, we will continue to document, investigate, and expose these practices.
We will keep working so that the world cannot claim ignorance.
We owe this to the people whose lives are put at risk every single day in the Aegean Sea.
Today, we keep watching. We keep documenting.
We give a voice to those Europe tries to silence.
But we can’t keep going without you.
Even a few euros a month helps us stay independent — and saves lives.
🧡 Every donation matters. Every voice counts.
All original material from this case will be made available for investigation purposes upon official request.