Author Archives: Tommy Olsen

In the morning of December 2, at 07.00, a boat carrying approximately 40 people arrived west of Tarti, Lesvos south. After arriving the group quickly moved away from the beach, afraid to be found by police and illegally returned to Turkey. The group walked for hours toward higher ground, believed they would be safer ifContinue reading “Pushbacks as Border Management”

In the morning of Thursday, November 10, a boat carrying 33 people landed west of Gavathas, Lesvos north west. The flimsy rubber boat had started out from Turkey in cover of darkness, 33 people packed into this small boat, people with hopes for a better future, away from war and persecution, to finally be ableContinue reading “Afghan Families Left Drifting in Life Rafts Outside Lesvos”

Friday night, November 4, a boat carrying approximately 25 people arrived close to Kalo Limani, Lesvos north west. After arriving people fled to the Woodson in several groups in the surrounding area to hide from Greek authorities, fearing that if they were found they would be illegally returned to Turkey. Saturday morning at 07.00 AegeanContinue reading “A Family With Several Small Children Left Drifting in a Life Raft Outside Lesvos”

On Monday 31 October, Aegean Boat Report published about a boat carrying 110 people that ended up in disaster travelling from Turkey to Italy. After hours drifting due to lack of fuel and engine failure, they were finally rescued by a vessel from the Greek coast guard. The Greek coast guard vessel, a Lambro HalmaticContinue reading “Another Magic Trick, This Time 104 People “Disappeard””

A boat carrying 43people, 16 of them small children, was traveling from Ayvalik, Turkey toward Tsonia, Lesvos north at first light this morning, when they were stopped by a vessel from the Greek coast guard and pushed back to Turkish waters. The boat was dangerously overloaded, and should not have been at sea at all,Continue reading “16 Children Pushed Back Outside Lesvos By Greek Coast Guard”

Last week, Thursday October 20, we published a short report on Facebook about a group of 22 people who had arrived west of Korakas, Lesvos north. Today, MSF published a press release about this case, explaining that they had found several people from this group handcuffed and injured after being beaten by 7-8 men. InContinue reading “MSF found refugees beaten and handcuffed on the Greek island of Lesvos”

In the early hours of October 1, a rubber boat carrying 43 afghans, 15 of them small children, set out from Cumhuriyet, Dikili, Turkey, destination Lesvos. At first light the boat was closing in on Lesvos, but deep inside Greek waters they were stopped by a vessel from the Greek coast guard, at gunpoint theyContinue reading “Children Phused Back at Gunpoint by Greek Authorities”

Yesterday the right-wing pro government tv channel Skai, who eagerly supports the ruling government, made yet another blunder. An “exclusive” video was published, supposedly proving the well known rhetoric by Greek authorities on instrumentalization of refugees by Turkish authorities, but also trying to incriminate NGOs that supposedly had helped refugees to cross the border. TheContinue reading “An epic blunder”

Aegean Boat Report have been documenting pushbacks and from the Aegean Sea and the Greek Aegean islands for years, performed by Greek authorities. For this we have been frequently targeted, unfounded investigations initiated by authorities have been “leaked” to Greek press, a scare tactic to get us to back off. The Greek Migration Minister NotisContinue reading “There is no longer any doubt”

We are perturbed and annoyed to once again be the subject of mischievous and entirely untrue claims from the Greek Minister of Migration Notis Mitarachis. We feel we must state publicly that his comments about Aegean Boat Report, specifically the claim that we ‘work with’ and ‘help’ Turkish ‘people traffickers’ and the claim that weContinue reading “Statement”