International Courant
2 hours in the past
By Nikos Papanikolaou and Phelan Chatterjee, BBC information
‘It is clearly unlawful’ – ex-coast guard’s offhand remark about migrants
Greece’s essential opposition social gathering calls for an investigation after a… BBC report which confirmed that, in response to witnesses, the Coast Guard had brought about dozens of deaths amongst migrants previously three years.
9 migrants had been allegedly intentionally thrown into the water.
Syriza’s head of immigration coverage mentioned: “We demand an in-depth investigation, we demand solutions, we demand accountability, and the rationale why we do it’s this.
“We care about all human life, and we can’t get used to the lack of life.”
Giorgos Psychogios instructed the BBC that his centre-left social gathering had been calling for accountability for coastguard incidents for years, following many reviews from worldwide establishments and organisations.
He accused the federal government of calling his social gathering “anti-Greek,” “Erdogan brokers” and “provocateurs” for asking these questions.
A authorities spokesman insisted the BBC’s claims had been unproven, however insisted each grievance can be monitored and conclusions drawn.
The coast guard “saves dozens of lives daily,” Pavlos Marinakis instructed reporters, including that it was “incorrect to focus on them.”
“Actuality has persistently refuted these claims for too a few years.
“And actually, too usually previously, we have now seen Greeks being those behind the try to defame the nation.”
A BBC staff beforehand confirmed footage revealed by the New York Occasions of twelve individuals being loaded onto a Greek coast guard boat after which left on a rubber boat to a former senior Greek coast guard officer. As he rose from his chair, together with his microphone nonetheless on, he mentioned it was “clearly unlawful” and “a global crime.”
The Greek authorities has lengthy been accused of compelled returns, pushing individuals again to Turkey from the place they crossed, which is unlawful beneath worldwide regulation.
However that is the primary time the BBC has calculated the variety of incidents claiming fatalities because of the actions of the Greek Coast Guard.
The 15 incidents analyzed – dated Might 23, 2020 – resulted in 43 deaths. The preliminary sources had been primarily native media, NGOs and the Turkish coast guard.
Deathly quiet: murders within the medical world?
In June 2023, an overloaded trawler results in entrance of a Greek Coast Guard patrol boat. Greater than 600 males, ladies and youngsters die within the water. However who’s accountable and is the Coast Guard guilty?
Watch on iPlayer or on BBC Two at 9pm on Monday 17 June.
Human Rights Watch described the BBC’s findings as a “notably ugly addition to the mounting and credible allegations towards the Greek authorities.”
The group known as for a full investigation to “serve justice for the victims and break the cycle of violence and impunity at Greece’s borders.”
In the meantime, the opposition Social Democratic Social gathering Pasok mentioned the BBC report “raises cheap curiosity and concern about potential unlawful actions” by the coast guard.
“We’re ready for the authorities’ responses,” mentioned MP Athanasios Glavinas. “Respect for human life and worth is non-negotiable.”
The Greek Refugee Council instructed the BBC that pushbacks had been a “de facto coverage for Greece” and joined requires the federal government and the EU to launch an investigation.
