Witnesses have accused the Greek coastguard of causing the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over the past three years, including nine who were allegedly thrown into the water. According to a BBC analysis, more than 40 people have died as a result of being forced out of Greek territorial waters or returned to sea after reaching Greek islands.
The Greek coastguard has denied all accusations of illegal activities. However, when shown footage of 12 migrants being transferred from a Greek coastguard boat to an abandoned dinghy, a former senior Greek coastguard officer acknowledged off-camera that it was “obviously illegal” and an “international crime.”
The Greek government has long been accused of engaging in forced returns, pushing migrants back towards Turkey, which is illegal under international law. This BBC investigation is the first to quantify the incidents resulting in fatalities linked to these actions by the Greek coastguard.
Between May 2020 and May 2023, 15 incidents were analyzed, resulting in 43 deaths. Sources for these incidents included local media, NGOs, and the Turkish coastguard. Verification was challenging due to the disappearance of witnesses or their fear of speaking out, but in four cases, accounts were corroborated by eyewitnesses.
The BBC documentary “Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?” highlighted a pattern of behaviour. In five incidents, migrants were reportedly thrown into the sea by Greek authorities. In four of these cases, migrants had landed on Greek islands but were subsequently hunted down. In other instances, migrants were placed on inflatable rafts without motors, which deflated or were punctured.
One Cameroonian man recounted being chased by Greek authorities on the island of Samos in September 2021. He described how he and two others were captured, transferred to a Greek coastguard boat, and then thrown into the sea, leading to the deaths of his companions. He managed to swim to shore, but the bodies of the others were later found on the Turkish coastline. The survivor’s lawyers are demanding a double murder investigation.
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Another account from a Somali man detailed how, in March 2021, he was handed over to the Greek coastguard by the army on the island of Chios, tied up, and thrown into the sea. He survived by floating on his back, but three others in his group died.
In September 2022, a boat carrying 85 migrants encountered trouble near Rhodes. Despite calling for help, they were returned to Turkish waters and placed in life rafts, one of which started sinking, resulting in several deaths, including children.
Greek law requires migrants seeking asylum to register on designated islands. However, interviewees reported being intercepted before reaching these centres by men often in plain clothes and masks. Human rights groups claim thousands of migrants have been illegally forced back to Turkey, violating international and EU laws.
Austrian activist Fayad Mulla witnessed such operations, including an incident on Lesbos where he filmed migrants being loaded onto a Greek coastguard vessel and later abandoned at sea.
The Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy is investigating the footage. An investigative journalist on Samos recounted how a Greek special forces member revealed their orders to “drive back” refugee boats, allegedly under directives from the minister.
Greece, a primary entry point to Europe for migrants, received 41,561 of the 263,048 sea arrivals in Europe last year. Although Turkey agreed to stop migrant crossings into Greece in 2016, it announced in 2020 that it could no longer enforce the deal.
The Greek coastguard responded to the BBC’s findings by emphasizing their professionalism and commitment to human rights, citing the rescue of 250,834 refugees in 6,161 incidents from 2015 to 2024. However, they have faced criticism for their role in the Adriana shipwreck last June, where over 600 migrants are feared to have died.
Greek officials maintain that the boat was not in distress and was en route to Italy, thus not warranting a rescue.
