US EditionGreek police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border: Report
BBC evidence says senior officers ordered the use of migrant mercenaries, with witnesses reporting beatings, sexual assault and theft during pushbacks.
- A BBC investigation alleges Greek police recruited masked migrant 'mercenaries' to forcibly return asylum seekers to Turkey, with internal documents suggesting the practice has occurred since at least 2020.
- Evidence from 2024 disciplinary hearings reveals border guards were ordered to find 'boatmen' for pushbacks because Covid and tensions with Turkey made it too dangerous for police to operate alone.
- A Frontex Fundamental Rights Office report found 10 to 20 'third-country nationals' acting under Greek officers' instructions subjected migrants to 'death and rape threats' and 'intrusive and sexualised body searches' during a June 22, 2023 ambush.
- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the BBC he was 'totally unaware' of allegations regarding mercenary use, while authorities defend border protections as necessary to prevent a 'massive influx' of refugees.
- Since 2015, Greece has received over one million migrant arrivals along the 200km Evros River frontier; pushbacks are considered illegal under international law, adding pressure on European Union border oversight.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Report Alleges Greek Police Used Masked Migrants to Carry Out Border Pushbacks
Greece reportedly used masked migrants to push other migrants back at the Evros border with Turkey. Credit: AMNA Greece’s police recruited migrants to violently push other migrants back across the Evros border with Turkey, according to a BBC report based on internal police documents, witness testimony and leaked transcripts. According to the report, border guards described in internal police material how senior officers ordered and oversaw the r…
Greek police 'using masked migrants to push illegal arrivals back across border into Turkey'
Greek police have been accused of secretly using masked migrants to push illegal arrivals back across the border into Turkey.Shocking footage captured the moment a gang of "migrant mercenaries" stormed through a crowd of worried-looking migrants on the border, close to the Evros River. The "mercenaries" - coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan - appear to be indiscriminately shouting at children and adults while brandishing weapons while he…
The masked men were reportedly migrants working on orders from the Greek police. The BBC concludes this based on testimonies in internal documents.
Greek police accused of using migrant ‘mercenaries’ in pushbacks
Greek authorities are facing fresh accusations of grave abuses at the EU’s external frontier, after an investigation revealed that police have been recruiting detained migrants to violently push asylum seekers back across the land border with Turkey. According to the BBC, internal police records and witness testimony indicate that, since at least 2020, Greek officers have enlisted groups of migrants to operate as masked "mercenaries" carrying ou…
An investigation by the BBC denounces a system of rejections at the Greek border: migrants recruited and used as "mercenaries" to stop others, among accusations of violence, abuse and violations of international norms
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