Di Greek coastguard dey responsible for dozens of migrants deaths
Di Greek coastguard dey responsible for dozens of migrants deaths for di Mediterranean ova a three-year period, according to wetin witn76367149esses say, including nine pipo wey dem deliberately throw inside di water.
Di nine dey among more dan 40 pipo wey dey alleged say dem die as a result of say dem force dem out of Greek territorial waters, or taken back out to sea afta reaching Greek islands, BBC analysis bin find.
Di Greek coastguard tell our investigation say dem strongly reject all accusations of illegal activities.
We bin show footage of 12 pipo wey dem load into a Greek coastguard boat, and den abandoned on a small boat, to a former senior Greek coastguard officer. Wen e get up from im chair, and wit di mic still on, im say na “obviously illegal” and “an international crime”.
Di Greek goment has long been accused of forced returns - pushing pipo back towards Turkey, wia dem cross from, wey dey illegal under international law.
But dis na di first time di BBC don calculate di numba of incidents wey allege say fatalities bin occur as a result of di Greek coastguard actions.
Di 15 incidents wey we analyse - dated May 2020-23 - bin result in 43 deaths. Di initial sources na primarily local media, NGOs and di Turkish coastguard.
Verifying such accounts dey extremely difficult - witnesses often disappear, or dem dey too fearful to speak out. But in four of dis cases we dey able to corroborate accounts by speaking wit eye witnesses.
Our research, wey feature in a new BBC documentary, Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?, bin suggest a clear pattern.
For five of di incidents, migrants say dem throw dem directly into di sea by di Greek authorities. In four of dos cases dey explain how dem bin land on Greek islands but dem hunt dem down. In several oda incidents, migrants say dem bin put dem inside inflatable rafts without motors wey go den deflate, or appear say dem don chook am.
One of di accounts wey go well na by a Cameroonian man, wey say dem hunt dem by Greek authorities afta landing on di island of Samos for September 2021.
Like all di pipo wey we interview, im say dem bin dey plan to register on Greek soil as an asylum seeker.
“We barely comot di boat, and di police come from behind,” he tell us. “Dem be two policemen dressed in black, and three odas in civilian clothes. Dem wear mask and na only dia eyes you fit see."
E and two odas- anoda from Cameroon and a man from Ivory Coast - dem transfer to a Greek coastguard boat, e say, wia events bin take a terrifying turn.
“Dem start wit di [oda] Cameroonian. Dem throw am inside di water. Di Ivorian man say: ‘Save me, I no wan die… and den eventually only im hand dey above water, and di body dey below.
“Slowly im hand slipped under, and di water swallow am.”
Our interviewee say im abductors beat am.
“Dem dey rain down punches ontop my head. E be like say dem dey punch animal.” And den e say dem bin push am, too, into di water - without a life jacket. Im dey able to swim to shore, but di bodies of di oda two - Sidy Keita and Didier Martial Kouamou Nana - was recovered on di Turkish coastline.
Di survivor lawyers dey demand make di Greek authorities open a double murder case.
Anoda man, from Somalia, tell di BBC how in March 2021 dem bin catch am by di Greek army on arrival on di island of Chios, wey come hand am to di Greek coastguard.
Im say di coastguard bin tie im hands behind di back, bifor dem drop am into di water.
“Dem throw me zip-tied for di middle of di sea. Dem want make I die,” im say.
Im say im manage to survive by floating on im back, bifor one of im hands broke free from wetin dem use tie am. But di sea get waves, and three for im group die. Our interviewee make am to land wia im dey eventually spotted by di Turkish coastguard.
In di incident wit di highest loss of life - for September 2022 - a boat wey dey carry 85 migrants bin run into trouble near di Greek island of Rhodes wen di motor cut out.
Mohamed, from Syria, tell us dey ring di Greek coastguard for help - wey load them onto a boat, return dem to Turkish waters and put dem in life rafts. Mohamed say di raft wey dem give am and im family no get valve wey dey properly closed.
“We immediately begin to sink, dem see dat… Dem hear us all screaming, and yet dem still leave us,” im tell di BBC.
“Di first child wey die na my cousin son… Afta dat na one by one. Anoda child, anoda child, den my cousin imself disappear. By di morning seven or eight children don die. My kids no die until di morning… right bifor di Turkish coastguard bin arrive.”
Greek law allow all migrants wey dey seek asylum to register dia claim on several of di islands at special registration centres.
But our interviewees - wey we contact wit di help of migrant support body Consolidated Rescue Group - say dem catchm am bifor dem fit get to dis centres. Dey say dis men go dey apparently operate undercover - non-uniformed, and often masked.
Human rights groups allege say thousands of pipo wey dey seek asylum for Europe don dey illegally forced back from Greece to Turkey and denied di right to seek asylum, wey dey enshrined in international and EU law.
Austrian activist Fayad Mulla tell im discover for imself how secretive such operations fit be for February last year, on di Greek island of Lesbos.
Driving towards di location of an alleged forced wey return afta a tip-off, im dey stopped by a man in a hoodie - wey dey later revealed to dey work for di police. Im say di police den attempt to delete di footage of him being stopped from di dashcam and charge him wit resisting a police officer.
Ultimately, dem no take further action.
Two months later, for a similar place, Mr Mulla manage to film a forced return, published by The New York Times. A group wey include women and babies dey unloaded from di back of an unmarked van and marched down a jetty onto a small boat.
Dem come transfer dem onto a Greek coastguard vessel further away from di coastline, taken out to sea, and den put onto a raft wia dem leave dem make wave carry dem comot.
We show dis footage - wey di BBC don verify - to Dimitris Baltakos, di former head of special operations wit di Greek coastguard.
During di interview, im refuse to speculate about wetin di footage show - having deny am earlier for our conversation, say di Greek coastguard go neva dey required to do anytin illegal. But during a break, im dey recorded telling someone out of shot for Greek:
“I neva tell dem much, right?... E dey very clear, say no be am. No be nuclear physics. I no know why dem am for broad daylight… e dey … obviously illegal. Na international crime.”
Di footage dem dey currently investigated by Greece independent National Transparency Authority.
An investigative journalist wey we speak to based on di island of Samos say she begin chatting wit a member of di Greek special forces via di dating app Tinder. Wen im ring her from wetin im described as a “warship”, Romy van Baarsen ask am more about im work - and wetin happun wen im forces spot a refugee boat.
Im reply say dem “drive dem back”, and say such orders na “from di minister”, adding say dem go dey punished if dey fail to stop a boat.
Greece don always deny so-called “pushbacks” say e no dey take place.
Greece na entryway into Europe for many migrants. Last year, e get 263,048 sea arrivals in Europe, wit Greece receiving 41,561 (16%) of dem. Turkey bin sign a deal wit di EU in 2016 to stop migrants and refugees crossing into Greece, but say in 2020 say e no go fit enforce am again.
We put di findings for our investigation to di Greek coastguard. E reply say dia staff work “tirelessly wit di utmost professionalism, a strong sense of responsibility and respect for human life and fundamental rights,” adding say dem dey “in full compliance wit di kontri international obligations”.
E add: “e suppose dey highlighted dat from 2015 to 2024, di Hellenic Coast Guard don rescue 250,834 refugees/migrants in 6,161 incidents at sea. Di impeccable execution of dis noble mission don dey positively recognized by di international community.
DiGreek coastguard has previously been criticised for its role in di biggest migrant shipwreck in di Mediterranean for a decade. More dan 600 pipo dey feared to have died afta di Adriana bin sink for Greece demarcated rescue area last June.
Greek officials don insist say di boat no dey in trouble and was safely on its way to Italy, and so di coastguard no attempt a rescue.
Dis man from Cameroon tell di BBC say di coastguard throw am into di sea - im two companions drown
Fayad Mulla dashcam record di moment undercover police stop am afta im receive tip am off about a forced return on Lesbos
