1/2 It’s now clear that the shipwreck outside Pylos, Greece, is one of the largest sea tragedies in Europe in modern times, hundreds of people were trapped inside the hull of the fishing vessel when it capsized and went down, potentially killing over 600 people. Information from Greek authorities, organizations and journalists is poring out, some less accurate than others, it’s difficult to get a clear picture of what really happened in the fatal hours that led up to this tragedy. One thing seems on the other hand quite clear if comparing information from the coast guard, Greek authorities, organizations and survivors, things don’t add up, someone is deliberately lying to cover up the truth. One thing that has come to light is that multiple survivors claims that the Greek coast guard was towing the boat before it capsized, this has been categorically denied by the coast guard. Question is, if the fishing vessel was in fact towed, in what direction and for what purpose, rescue or pushback? The actions, or rather the lack of action by the Greek coast guard to provide assistance to people in distress at sea seems obvious in this case. The coast guard claims in their statement, that the people onboard denied to be rescued, and that they wanted to continue toward Italy. Information published by AlarmPhone, who was in direct contact with people onboard the boat, tells a different story, people begged to be rescued, their cry for help was ignored, eventually leading to their death. The lack of action by Greek authorities became more apparent when surveillance pictures from Frontex was published, showing a boat heavily overloaded, people packed as sardines outside, raising their hands toward the surveillance plane, waving to get their attention, they don’t appear as they don’t want help, quite the opposite. A former senior officer of the Greek Coast Guard told that “valuable time was lost” and confirmed that refusal of assistance would only make sense in the case of a legal, documented, seaworthy and flagged vessel. He said “This was the definition of a vessel in distress”. A decision by Greek authorities that this boat was not in distress, and not in a state that required immediate rescue, is mind blowing, on what grounds this decision was made we can only speculate, was this a wrong decision, most definitely. We could ask if this decision was made out of incompetence or in the name of Greek border protection and refuge policy. Greek authorities had the time and resources available to rescue this boat that carried as many as 750 people. The rescue operation wasn’t intended before the boat had capsized, as a result up toward 650 people was killed, should there be consequences, most definitely, question is will there be any at all? If this had been a cruise liner in distress and hundreds of rich people had drowned due to the lack of rescue efforts, every second, decision and movement would have been scrutinized, every stone would have been turned to get to the bottom of it. If there had been the slightest sign of wrongdoing, heads would have rolled. In this case, we fear that nobody will be held accountable, it will disappear into the night as a line in the ever growing statistics of dead people on Europe’s borders, in time forgotten. It’s important to look at the systematic pushback tactics implemented by Greek authorities the last three years, to understand their mindset. Hundreds of thousands of people have been illegally pushed back by their coast guard, stopping people from entering by all means necessary, even if this means killing people in the process. In the past sailboat’s and cargo vessels, packed with people, have been towed hundreds of miles before they have been left helplessly drifting by the Greek coast guard. It’s not unlike that this was the plan this fatal night as well, only this time, it went terribly wrong, and now they are trying their best to cover it up, putting blame everywhere else than themselves.

Was the Greek coast guard towing the boat before it capsized? An interview by former MEP @karsenis published today by the @ThePressProject , reveals the the Greek coast guard might have been towing the overcrowded fishing vessel before it capsized. This shocking news came after he had been inside the holding facility talking to the survivors in the port of Kalamata, he say they told him that the Greek coast guard was towing the boat, then it suddenly capsized. The Greek coast guard has published several report on the fate incident, non of them mentioning anything about towing the boat, so why leave this vital information out of the reports, if true? Since this information has not been reported by the coast guard, the question is, was it left out of the reports because they were not trying to rescue the boat, rather towing it toward Italian waters, or pushing them back. This report is not the first we have heard that suggests that the Greek coast guard was towing the boat before it capsized, killing hundreds of people, but the first report that has been published on video.

A rubber boat carrying 35 people was pushed back outside Rhodes on Sunday. In the video we can clearly see three masked men, in what seems to be 🇬🇷 naval uniforms, in a RIB belonging to the @HCoastGuard, ID number is visible, ΛΣ-1037, stationed on Rhodes.@PrimeministerGR

Babies and small children pushed back by Greek authorities. Look at this picture closely, please take your time, study every individual, especially the small children. This could be your child, your nephew, your friends child or the kids down the hall, what possible could they have done to deserve this? Ask yourself what kind of humans would want to harm these children, or even put them in a situation where they could be harmed. People, who on a daily basis would do such things, would you even call them humans? For those of you who live on the Greek islands, please keep in mind that these cruel and inhumane acts are done by normal people, working in your local coast guard. People who lives amongst you, it could be your friend, your neighbor, your brother or sister, even your husband or wife, are you okay with that, are you really okay knowing what they are capable of? Would you have been equally indifferent if they had done this to someone you know, if your answer is no, ask yourself why? 23 people, amongst them many very small children, was stopped by the Greek coast guard inside Greek territory waters, while traveling towards Chios yesterday morning. Their engine was destroyed, before the Greek coast guard towed them back towards Turkish waters, and left them helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea. This cruel and inhumane treatment of vulnerable people seeking shelter in Europe must stop, we are better than this, or I really hope we are.. Ask yourself are you okay with this? If not, please share this post.

The tragic shipwreck outside Pylos has made headlines not only in Greece but all over the world. 104 people was rescued, while 79 people have so far been found drowned, it’s expected that this number will increase. How many was onboard the boat is unclear, numbers varies from 400 up to 750 people. One thing is clear, it’s the deadliest shipwreck outside Greek shores for decades, so far 79 is found drowned, while 104 was rescued, the numbers of missing and assumed drowned would be 567 people if there were 750 people onboard, that would put the total death toll to almost 650 people. At first I thought that the number 750 people was highly exaggerated, but when I saw the picture of the boat, packed to the rim outside on deck, I’m not so sure anymore, we must assume that there were hundreds of people inside the boat packed like sardines. The rescued and the drowned found is most likely the people we see outside the boat, anyone inside would be immediately trapped when the boat capsized, they would have no chance to escape and go down with the boat. According to testimonies from survivors the boat was packed with people, outside and inside, inside was mainly women and children while the men was sitting outside. If this information is correct, most of the survivors and drowned are men, since they were the ones sitting outside on the boat. Pictures published after the people arrived in port support the theory that the survivors was mainly men, no woman or children was in any of the published pictures, as far as we can see. The chance of finding people who was trapped inside the boat when it went down, would be extremely difficult, the boat is now resting on the seabed 5.000 meters below sea level. Number of missing is unknown, testimonies from survivors say everything from 400 to 750 passengers, we will probably never know exactly how many was onboard. All survivors was taken to port in Kalamate, approximately 30 people needed medical care and transported to hospital, and will eventually be taken to the reception and identification center in Malakasa. Nationalities of the people onboard was reported to be from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine and Egypt. Greece’s caretaker PM Ioannis Sarmas declared three days of mourning for the victims of one of the country's deadliest shipwrecks involving refugees.

2. September 2015, Alan Kurdi(3), was found drowned outside Bodrum, Turkey. The picture of his lifeless body moved a whole world, and inspired thousands of people to get involved in the refugee crisis in the Aegean Sea. Aylan’s father, Abdulla Kurdi, who lost his wife and two children said “let these be the last to die, and let their death not be in vain. 8 years later, people are still dying in the attempt to reach safety in Europe. Hundreds of children have died since the day Aylan drowned, his death seems to have been in vain.. We said “never again”, and look where we are now, I’m so ashamed of what we have become.. In memory of Alan Kurdi(Aylan Shenu)

16 Palestinians Seeking refuge in Europe brutally pushed back from Chios by Greek Authorities. Two days ago we published about 22 Palestinians that was pushed back in life rafts by Greek authorities outside Lesvos on January 5, yesterday it happened again, this time outside Chios. A boat carrying 16 Palestinians was stopped outside the Greek island of Chios yesterday, engine removed, towed back towards Turkish waters, and left helplessly drifting by the Greek coast guard. Greek authorities are doing everything in their power to illegally deport anyone who manage to get into Greek territorial waters isn’t new, this has been ongoing for years, with no regard for human lives, international laws, regulations, and fundamental human rights. That these vulnerable people are being massacred by the thousands in Gaza by Israel, attempted wiped off the face of the earth, doesn’t seem to bother Greek authorities at all, all in the name of “border protection”, “European values” and “The European way of life”. Since January 2020, we have registtered 2.847 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic coast guard, involving 77.532 men, women and children, supported and funded by The European Commision and Frontex. #StopBorderCrimes

Illegal and brutal pushbacks of Palestinians fleeing war in Gaza continue in Greece, with no regard for human lives. Twelve Palestinians were on Friday found drifting in a Greek-manufactured life raft in Turkish waters near the Greek island of Kastellorizo, in the eastern Mediterranean. The group had been taken onboard a Greek coast guard vessel, on which their papers, valuables and phones were taken away from them. Then they were forced into a life raft, and left helplessly drifting in the dark. The Greek coast guard was fully aware that they were Palestinians when they forced them into the life raft, and that they were fleeing an ongoing war. The problem is they don’t care, who they are and where they come from doesn’t matter, they are unwanted, “not real refugees” according to Greek officials, “illegal immigrants”, “invaders”.. Border crimes in Greece continue unhindered and unchallenged by the European Council. Not only that, the EU supports and finances these border crimes with Europeans taxpayers’ money, These unacceptable and illegal acts are carried out in your name, using your money. More than 25,000 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since 8 October 2023: that’s an average of 250 people a day. Thousands of those killed were small children. The daily death rate is higher than in any other 21st Century conflict. In comparison, according to the UN, 10.000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, an average of 13 people a day. Following the call of the EU member state’s home affairs ministers, on 2 March 2022, the EU Commission rapidly proposed to activate the Temporary Protection Directive, under which people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be granted protection. On 4 March 2022, the Council unanimously adopted the decision, only eight days into the invasion. The Israeli slaughter of men, women and children in Gaza has now lasted over 100 days. More than 25,000 people have been killed. When will be the right time for the Council to act? It’s long overdue that the Council triggers the Temporary Protection Directive for people fleeing the slaughter in Gaza, as we did when Russia invaded Ukraine, and offers quick and effective assistance also to Palestinians. The experience of Palestinian people has been and is still atrocious. They have every right to flee, as the alternative is death. The very least we in Europe can do is to ensure they have at least the same rights and opportunities as those Ukrainian people who fled when Russia invaded their country. #StopBorderCrimes

More and more of these reports are coming out, videos of survivors saying that the boat was towed by the Greek coast guard, still non of the survivors have been allowed to talk to the press, get axes to phones or use internet. They are locked up behind barbed wire fences and heavily guarded from the outside world. You can ask yourself, what are the Greek authorities so afraid of, shouldn’t survivors be allowed to tell their story? More and more information coming out points to the fact that the boat was towed by the Greek coast guard when it capsized, and that this wasn’t a rescue operation, but a pushback gone terribly wrong. Now Greek authorities are trying their best to cover up the truth, denying any responsibility, even blaming the people onboard to have caused the boat to capsize, like they did in the Farmakonisi case from 2014.

Interesting interview on CNN of @PrimeministerGR where he again states that Greek government do not perform pushbacks, while the video in the background shows that @HCoastGuard are putting refugees in life rafts, and leaves them helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea.

Thrown in the sea by Greek Coast Guard! Their story is almost unbelievable, and if we hadn’t had pictures and location data from them that place them on Samos earlier this day, we would have had difficulty believing them. aegeanboatreport.com/2021/09…

While pressure is mounting up against the Greek authorities systematic human rights violations in the Aegean Sea, pushbacks continues unhindered and unchallenged. Yesterday, 109 people, amongst them 21 small children, was found drifting in 7 life rafts in the Aegean Sea. Many of them kidnapped by masked men on Greek islands, robbed, beaten, and left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea. Last week a group of 27 people was pushed back from the Greek island of Inousses, 8 of them drowned after the Greek Coast Guard left them drifting in a life raft, nobody is held accountable for their deaths. Hundreds of vulnerable men, women and children have been killed by Greek authorities in relation to pushbacks, supported and funded by the European Commission and Frontex. They know perfectly well what is taking place in this border area, the documentation is overwhelming, there is no longer any possible to plead ignorance, but the violence continues with their blessings. What would it take to force them to act, 650 people, hundreds of children, was killed in the Pylos shipwreck, it was obviously not enough, over a year has passed, and there has been no reaction from the European Commission, so what would it take? It’s long overdue for the European Commission to take legal actions, infringement procedures, against the Greek authorities, impose financial sanctions and freeze all financial support, until it’s proven without any doubt that rule of law has been reinstated in Greece. Frontex's Executive Director, Hans Leijtens, and the Management Board, are well aware of the situation in Greece, and can no longer ignore the systemic fundamental rights violations taking place on a daily basis. The Executive Director should invoke Article 46 of the Frontex Regulation, and suspend the agency's operations in Greece. It’s time to say enough is enough, this is not what Europe stands for, this is not the European way of life, we can no longer allow this to be done in our name! I have taken my stand a long time ago, it’s now time for you to take yours!

A boat carrying 39 people, men, women and children arrived this morning in a difficult area full of cliffs on the Greek island of Pserimos. They were heading toward Kos when boats from the Greek coast guard started chasing them, threatening then with guns, and they ran aground on the nearest island to try to find safety. At least three vessels from the Greek coast guard are currently in the area, and a group of four men, two of them wearing masks, has arrived on the island and are telling them they will be taken back to Turkey. From videos and pictures provided by the group there is no doubt that they are on Pserimos, and that the Greek authorities are aware of their presence. The people from the group say they are from Palestine, and that they want to be taken to the camp on Kos so that they can apply for asylum, but they are afraid that the Greek coast guard will take them back to Turkey, as they have told them several times already. More officers has been transported from the Greek coast guard vessel to land, what their intentions are is difficult to say, people in the group are scared, they say the men are carrying guns, threatening them and say they will be taken back to Turkey. More pictures on m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…

Filling the islands with American military equipment can be seen, by some, as a provocation, especially since it’s a violation of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty.

Video with English sub

There has been some questions on how this video was taken, so I will elaborate on those details. The children in the van was not handcuffed and taped, as we can see from the video’s, and one person managed to hide a phone. With help of a child, this person managed to use the phone, take videos and send voice messages. Contact was eventually lost and we must assume that the phone was found and taken. Contact has now been lost for over one hour.

Over 100 small children forced into life rafts and abandoned at sea by the Greek coast guard in July. In July Aegean Boat Report has registered 47 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea involving 1.314 people. Of the 5.126 people picked up by the Turkish coast guard in July, 25.6% had been pushed back by Greek authorities. Of the 47 pushback cases we have registered in July, Greek authorities used life rafts as a tool for deportation in 23 of them, 645 people, men, women and children, were found drifting in a total of 35 life rafts. 48.9% of the pushback cases in July was performed by using life rafts as a tool for illegal deportations, the highest percentage registered. The number of people pushed back in July have increased 37.3% compared to June, and the highest number registered the last five months. All the 35 life rafts found were made by the same manufacturer, Lalizas, from Piraeus, Greece, the same manufacturer who has a contract to provide equipment to the Greek Hellenic Coast Guard. Since 2020 the Greek Coast guard has used 1.530 of these life rafts to illegally deport over 26.500 people. To force people into life rafts and leave them helplessly drifting at sea is illegal, but seems to be of no concern for European politicians, as long as the Greek authorities get the job done, stop as many people as they can, by any means possible to enter “Festung Europa”, they are more than willing to look the other way. European Parliament and Frontex is not only looking the other way, but also supporting and funding these illegal operations, all in the name of “border protection”, paid for by European taxpayers money. Perhaps for the same reason, there has been no investigation initiated by the European Parliament to investigate these life raft cases. Even when it was filmed by Fayad Mulla and published in The New York Times, there was no reaction, as if this isn’t happening. To visualize the 35 life rafts and the 645 people forced into them by Greek authorities, we publish pictures taken from all the cases in July. As an organization we publish a lot of statistics, but behind all these numbers there are real people, real human beings, just like you and me, all of equal value and importance. It’s easy to forget the people when we don’t see them, no faces, no eyes, just numbers, it’s as if they are not real, they don’t exist. Please look closely, and you will see that the people in these pictures are real, with hopes and dreams for the future, just like you and me, we are no different, we are the same. Don’t pretend they don’t exist by looking away, it’s time to open your eyes. Kudos to all of those who, on a daily basis, do their utmost to fend for the rights of people at our borders! To support our work and help us continue saving lives in the Aegean, please donate through PayPal by clicking on the link below in comments. More pictures of the life rafts in July can be found on our Facebook post.

Three people drowned after being thrown into the sea in handcuffs by Greek Coast Guard aegeanboatreport.com/2022/08…

When there has been a major disaster where large numbers of people have been involved, authorities tries to do their utmost to make sure that the survivors are taken care of. People who have fought to survive, lost loved ones, seen horrible unimaginable things unfold in front of their eyes, are traumatized, in a state of shock, and have a desperate need to feel safe. Authorities would make sure that people have someone to talk to, in a friendly and loving environment where their basic needs are covered. Consoling and therapy would be available, and needed for a long time, in order to get victims back on their feet, back to a life that can be considered normal. The 104 survivors from the shipwreck outside Pylos was taken to Kalamata, 30 people was taken to the local hospital while the rest, over 70 people, was taken to an old storage hall in the port, without even the most basic facilities. Her they were given a madras to sleep on on the concrete floor, and a blanket to keep warm. If that wasn’t enough, these traumatized people are guarded by military personnel carrying guns, walking back and forth between the people while trying to slip, as if they were criminals, any psychologist would confirm that this environment isn’t suitable for people, and definitely not for traumatized people. These people survived, most likely the biggest shipwreck disaster in Europe for decades, and this is how they are treated, I’m lost for words. Some may argue that this most likely was the best they could find, but in a city with over 60.000 people I highly doubt it, there are definitely more suitable places than this, actually any place would be. If 100 survivors from a cruise ship had been taken into Kalamata, do you honestly believe that this storage facility would have been the best they have had to offer them? And if the answer is no, then ask yourself why? You might not like the answer you end up with, Something is most definitely seriously wrong with this picture, how did we end up her, this isn’t us is it?, it’s most definitely not Europe, it’s not even this century. I never thought I would be embarrassed to be European, I am, and have been for a long time.

22 Palestinians Seeking refuge in Europe pushed back from Lesvos by Greek Authorities. On January 5, two life rafts were found drifting south of Lesvos inside Turkish territory waters, onboard 22 Palestinians. People onboard claims that the Greek Coast Guard stopped them before they reached land on Lesvos, took them onboard a Greek Coast Guard vessel, took them back out to sea, forced them into two life rafts and left them helplessly drifting. If Palestinians aren’t refugees, fleeing war and persecution, I don’t know who is.. These pushbacks are supported and funded by the European Commission and Frontex, European taxpayers money is used to push back also Palestinian refugees in the Aegean Sea. First they flee Israeli bombs in Gaza, then captured and illegally deported in life rafts by Greek Authorities. Greece supported the U.N. resolution on Gaza cease-fire, then violate the fundamental human rights of the people of Gaza. #StopBorderCrimes

It’s with a heavy heart that I’m now announcing that Aegean Boat Report is forced to drastically scale down on our operations, due to lack of funding. I have for months tried my utmost to find new financial partners, who see the necessity of our work, and are able and willing, to support our project documenting violence against men, women and children at our borders, unfortunately, so far, this has not been successful. Criminalization by Greek authorities of Aegean Boat Report, and it’s founder Tommy Olsen, has taken its toll. Potential financial partners finds it difficult to support someone, where there is arrest warrants issued, and we are told to return to them when “the legal issues have been resolved”. Anyone who has knowledge of the Greek legal system knows that this will take years to resolve. Aegean Boat Report will continue to monitor the ABR Hotline, our highest priority has always been to assist people asking for help first, everything else will be scaled down to a bare minimum. Eventually, if no substantial sustainable solution is found in the next two months, I will be forced to close down Aegean Boat Report. Yes we are followed by thousands of people, and many relies and use the information we provide in their daily work, especially journalists. But those who will suffer the most, when we close down, will be, and always is, the men, women and children, who on a daily basis rely on our assistance. What is importantly to understand, is that no organization can survive on likes, views and followers alone, it actually takes money. We will in the nearby future, publish more detailed information on the reasons why we are forced to close, if no sustainable solution is found, and the potential negative impact this will have on the current situation in the Aegean Sea, advocacy, and last but not least, for people on the move. I am very sorry to have to publish this, I have postponed this as long as I could, in hope of finding a solution, unfortunately there is at the moment no solution in sight. The bottom line is, if no financial solution is found, Aegean Boat Report, who has been fending for the rights of vulnerable people for seven years, will be closed within a few months. Tommy Olsen

2/2 In the past sailboat’s and cargo vessels, packed with people, have been towed hundreds of miles before they have been left helplessly drifting by the Greek coast guard. It’s not unlike that this was the plan this fatal night as well, only this time, it went terribly wrong, and now they are trying their best to cover it up, putting blame everywhere else than themselves. Are we confident that a national investigation launched in this disaster will reveal the truth, unfortunately not. National investigations into potential crimes committed by Greek authorities always, and without exception, has the same result, even when there is overwhelming amounts of evidence and they are caught with their pants down, not guilty, that this will be the conclusion this time around, we are confident. Even the head of Frontex, Executive Director Hans Leijtens, who arrived in Kalamata to be briefed on the situation by the Greek coast guard, immediately, and without any form of investigation, stated that the Greek coast guard had done their utmost to save lives, he couldn’t possibly know this to be true, so why say this to the international press, was it damage control? There is a lot of confusing information going around, speculations on what really happened, it seems nobody knows for sure. The survivors have been locked up with no access to the outside world, not even allowed to contact their families to tell them that they are alive. So why are the Greek authorities so careful, survivors should have the right to speak to anyone, also journalists to give their accounts on what happened. Is it possible that Greek authorities are afraid of what the survivors would say if allowed to talk to international journalists? Now they have been shipped away under guard, to the closed reception facility in Malakasa, her they will stay locked up behind double fences, barbed wire and electronic surveillance, again without access to the outside world. I was astonished when I read today that the Prime minister Ioannis Sarmas held a cabinet meeting to discuss the rights of the survivors, if they should have the right to make phone calls or use the internet. Over 100 survivors from the worst maritime disaster in Europe in decades, and they need to debate if they should be allowed to call someone or read the news, it’s shameful and absolutely shocking! Hundreds and most likely thousands of family members are searching for sign of life from their loved ones, hoping to find them amongst the survivors, and the survivors are not allowed access to phones. The survivors are not criminals, but are treated as such, because Greek authorities are afraid of what they might tell the outside world. Based on the information available, and previous similar cases involving refugees in boats in the area who have encountered the Greek coast guard, it’s highly likely that this was a "business as usual" operation meant to steer/force the boat away from Greek waters. In this case the pushback went terribly wrong, Greek authorities are now doing everything in their power to cover it up, damage control and denial of any responsibility seems to be the strategy, it has worked perfectly in the past, so why not try it again. Survivors, victims and their families, together with the international community, demands answers, not only from Greek authorities but also from Frontex and the European Commission, and that dose responsible will be held accountable.

⚠️Urgent appeal to prevent a pushback on Lesvos, 25 children in imminent danger of being pushed back⚠️ We urge locals, organizations and journalists on Lesvos, to go to Skala Sikamineas to document and to protect the rights of people on the move

Two children striped naked by the Greek coast guard and left drifting alone in a life raft outside Lesvos, the cruelty seems to have no end. On June 6, at 03.30, the Turkish coast guard found and rescued two Afghan boys, age 12 and 14, from a life raft drifting off the coast of Ayvalik, Turkey. The two boys had been stripped naked, thrown into a life raft, and abandoned at sea in the dark by the Greek coast guard. When you think you have seen it all, something comes along and just blows your mind, it takes a special kind of twisted sick mind to do such a thing towards anyone, and especially towards children. There is no question that this is the handy work of the Greek coast guard, but to strip two children, why in gods name would anyone do that, I’m just lost for words. The situation in the Aegean Sea has reached a point where there is no limit to what the Greek coast guard are capable of. I have seen a lot of cruel and inhumane behaviour from Greek authorities over the years, but this is a new low.

A note to Theodosis Nikitaras, Mayor of Kos It was with a sense of weary sadness that we read yesterday that the Mayor of Kos, Theodosis Nikitaras, has filed a complaint against Aegean Boat Report with the Kos prosecutor's office. On Monday (26 June 2023) we received a video showing 14 people in a van. They had been beaten, handcuffed and their eyes taped, by officers on Kos. fb.watch/lyiQ4ypdTT/ In the video, we hear one of the beaten, handcuffed, taped up men ask to use the toilet. One of the officers shouts at him in Greek, to 'shut up', and then starts talking to a colleague about football. An almost dictionary-definition of the banality of evil in action. This would of course be an unacceptable way to treat even criminals, or those suspected of a crime. And these people are not criminals. They had travelled to seek safe places to live, learn and work. Which is their legal and human right. Horrified by what we saw, we published the video on social media, to raise awareness, hopefully save these people, and prevent such outrages happening again. Instead, K. Nikitaras has accused us of 'defaming' Kos and wishes to start criminal proceedings against us. In a later TV appearance, he claimed the video was 'an act of revenge against the Greek justice system.', and that 'there is nothing to show that the video is real. If it was true, they would have filed a lawsuit.' mynews.gr/kos-kataggelia-mko… This statement is a simple effort by K. Nikitaras to mislead the Greek public. He knows, just as we do, that these men, beaten, cuffed and taped, would have had no chance to 'file a lawsuit' against the Greek government. To suggest they would is simply a falsehood, and to pretend this is 'evidence' that the video – in which those carrying out the beatings are clearly speaking Greek – is a 'fake' is beyond ridiculous. He also claimed: 'The NGO has sued me, it has sued 400 institutions in Greece. Where do they get the resources from? Let's look for that too.' This is, to put it as simply as possible, a lie. We have never sued K. Nikitaras, or any other Greek institution. Zero. Ever. He knows we have not sued him, and yet told people we had on a TV broadcast which will be seen by Greek people. K. Nikitaras is a liar, and he is lying to mislead the Greek public. We would like to be shocked by his ludicrous reaction. We should be able to be surprised. But we are not, and we cannot. This – attacking the people who highlight violence and abuse of men, women and children who seek safety – is the Greek political elite's standard response. Of course, we hope the prosecutor's office will calmly and politely advise K. Nikitaras to withdraw his frivolous and foolish complaint, on the grounds that it is not an offence to share a video showing police brutality. We also hope the office points out that what we did was in no way 'defaming' Kos: it was highlighting the violence and unacceptable behaviour of a group of uniformed officers on the island. In the meantime, we also have some advice for the Mayor: if the contents of a video shot on Kos offend you, you are the island's Mayor. You have the power to do something about it. And what you should do is make sure that your officers are not simply hired violent bigots, and instead do their actual job, with care and dignity. And you should do your job, K. Nikitaras. And do it well. Instead of making up foolish lies about us and other organisations who simply wish you and the Greek government to obey the law, make sure the reason people like your beautiful island and want to visit it is not because you hide police brutality, but because you make sure such brutality does not take place.

This video is over 3 years old, and you know it, deliberately misleading people. This video do not show a “push forward” as you say, it shows Turkish coast guard trying to violently stop a boat fro crossing towards Greece, this is what EU payed then to do under the EU-Turkey deal

In the early hours of yesterday, by the cover of darkness, a rubber boat sat out from Çeşme, Turkey towards the Greek island of Chios. Onboard was 41 Afghans, over half of them small children. The fragile rubber boat crossed into Greek waters, and was closing in on Chios, when a fast boat approached them, onboard was four masked men in dark military clothing, all carrying guns. The rubber boat was forced to stop, and at gunpoint the passengers could only watch while the masked men removed their engine and dropped it in the sea. People onboard feared for their lives, the masked men were shooting while pointing guns towards them, children were screaming, it was terrifying. The boat disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, towards lights in the distance from a bigger vessel. 41 people, many of them very small children, was left helplessly drifting in the dark in the middle of the sea. The boat drifted for hours, and yesterday morning at 06.10 they were found by a patrol boat from the Turkish coast guard and taken back to Turkey, all 41, also the children were arrested. Greek authorities left over 20 small children helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea at night, and didn’t even bother to provide them with life jackets, as if their lives didn’t matter. What kind of people would do such a thing towards other human beings, not to mention small children.. #StopBorderCrimes

Greek coast guard threw 15 Palestinians into a life raft and left them helplessly drifting at sea. In recent weeks, more and more Palestinians have been left drifting in life rafts in the Aegean Sea by the Greek coast guard: a cruel and inhumane way to treat people seeking protection in Europe. These men, women and children are some of the most vulnerable people on Earth, with international news broadcasts reporting continuously on attacks against them from one of the world's most advanced militaries, and the international court having accepted that what is being waged against them may not be a war, or even ethnic cleansing, but an all-out genocide. Not are the persecution and attacks on Gazan people showing any signs of stopping. On the evening of 12 February, the Israeli government launched an attack on Rafah, the city to which it had previously demanded people must flee if they wished not to be bombed in their homes, killing at least 67 men, women and children (many reports put that figure at far more than 100 people killed) and maiming many, many more. Even if the Israeli government were not now attacking Rafah, leaving Gazan people with literally no place in Gaza left to run, conditions in the city were already terrible. An estimated 1.4m people are now crammed into the 151km² city, meaning its population had expanded in the last three months to seven times that of the 200,000 people who had been there on 7 October 2023. And this latest episode carried out by the Greek coastguard merely confirms a pattern of cruelty and violence, even against the most vulnerable people trying to find protection in Europe. A group of 20 people, 15 Palestinians and five Syrians, was heading towards the Greek island of Chios Friday when they were stopped by a vessel from the Greek coast guard, deep inside Greek territorial waters. Masked men with guns ordered the boat to stop, took the 20 people onto the coast guard vessel, and stripped them of all their belongings, before they were forced into a small life raft, and left helplessly drifting in the dark. Close to 30.000 Palestinian civilians have been slaughtered by Israeli forces in Gaza, more than 12.000 of them children. More than 12.000 children killed in a war the Israeli government claims is a war against terrorists. How can anyone in their right mind support this? Greek authorities seem to be not only in support of Israel, but also eager to send those that have managed to escape the slaughter, including children, back, by any means possible. And the EU, even as it votes to censure the Greek government for its effective dismantling of the rule of law and human rights within Greece, appears to continue to back the same government's attacks on vulnerable men, women and children exercising their legal right to flee war and terror, and seek safe places to live. The carrying out and backing of pushbacks is immoral and illegal in all cases. But committing and supporting the violent violation of international and European law by an EU member state, against people fleeing what may be a televised genocide is an unconscionable crime committed by the EU and Greek government alike. #StopBorderCrimes

A man is missing, believed to be drowned, after allegedly being thrown directly into the sea at night by the Greek Coast Guard, I’m lost for words. aegeanboatreport.com/2022/01…

Greek Special Forces Involved In Pushback of 13 Children In the morning of August 8, a boat carrying 64 people, 13 of them children, was heading from the Turkish shore towards the Greek island of Rhodes. Deep inside Greek territory waters they were stopped by three men in a black and white RIB, all in black uniforms, carrying guns, their faces covered by masks. From their tactical gear, they are believed to be HCG Special Forces (OEA/KEA). According to the victims, the masked men entered the yacht, forced people onboard to give them their phones, money and bags. They quickly immobilized the boat by destroying the engine, before returning to their RIB. Read the full report with pictures, video and voice messages in the link below 👇 aegeanboatreport.com/2024/08…

Another tragedy in the Aegean Sea, six drowned, four of them children, after being pushed back by @HCoastGuard outside Lesvos yesterday. How many more children needs to drown before we act? @YlvaJohansson @saskiabricmont @EU_Commission @nmitarakis @PrimeministerGR @Europarl_EN

Forced into two life rafts by 🇬🇷 authorities, left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea. One of the people had managed to hid his phone, and captured this on film, in the video he says “Greece forced us to go back, this is our situation”. aegeanboatreport.com/2022/12…

When small defenseless children are thrown into life rafts, and abandoned in the middle of the sea by authorities, and we don’t raise our voice, there is something terribly wrong with us. @vonderleyen @YlvaJohansson @MargSchinas @LeijtensFrontex aegeanboatreport.com/2024/06…

On June 26 we published a disturbing video from Kos showing 14 people trapped and gagged in the back of a van. Now we can reveal what really happened on kos this day. aegeanboatreport.com/2023/07…

🌊 Ten Years On — We Still Haven’t Learned 🌊 On September 2, 2015, the world woke up to a picture that broke our hearts: A two-year-old boy, Alan Kurdi, lying face down on a beach in Turkey. He should have been 12 years old today. Back then, Europe said never again. There was outrage, solidarity, and promises of change. But the world forgot. Since then, hundreds of children like Alan have drowned on the dangerous routes to Europe. In 2015, the image of one small body shook the world. Today, images of dead children at Europe’s borders barely make the news. What was once unthinkable has become normal. Alan’s short life should have mattered. It still matters. We owe it to him — and to every child lost since — not to look away. #AlanKurdi #NeverAgain #RefugeesWelcome #HumanRights #AegeanBoatReport

Groundbreaking decision in our first pushback case before the European Court of Human Rights @EU_Commission @nmitarakis @Synigoros @PrimeministerGR @YlvaJohansson @Refugees @CommissionerHR @vonderleyen @Dunja_Mijatovic @Frontex aegeanboatreport.com/2022/03…

Over 20 small children thrown into life rafts and abandoned in the middle of the sea by Greek coast guard, Greek humanitarianism at its finest.. The morning of Thursday December 28, a group of 40 people, half of them small children, was stopped by a Greek coast guard vessel outside Skala Neon Kidinion, Lesvos north east. Everyone was taken onboard the coast guard vessel with a promise to be taken to land and be allowed to apply for asylum in Greece. Instead of taking them to a port of safety, they transported them back out to sea and abandoned them in two life rafts in the middle of the sea. While onboard the Greek coast guard vessels. the Greek officers, who strangely enough all was wearing black masks to cover their faces, forced everyone to give them all their belongings, bags, papers, money, valuables and phones. The phones that was confiscated was immediately thrown overboard, at gunpoint noeone dared to refuse, the only memories they had left, pictures and videos of family and friends, lost forever In the sea. To force people into life rafts and leave them helplessly drifting at sea is illegal, but seems to be of no concern for European politicians, as long as the Greek authorities get the job done, stop as many people as they can, by any means possible to enter “Festung Europa”, they are more than willing to look the other way. European Parliament and Frontex is not only looking the other way, but also funding these illegal operations, all in the name of “border protection”, paid for by European taxpayers money. Perhaps for the same reason, there has been no investigation initiated by the European Parliament to investigate these life raft cases. Even when it was filmed by Fayad Mulla and published in The New York Times, there was no reaction, as if this isn’t happening. For normal people, it’s actually quite difficult to comprehend, that a European country, a member of the European Union, would force families, small children, women, old people who can barely walk, into life rafts and leave them helplessly drifting. When we also know that these atrocities are supported by the European Border And Coast Guard Agency FRONTEX, and handsomely funded by The European Union, it just gets totally incomprehensible. Why would anyone do such a thing, and why would nobody try to stop it? In this case we have not blurred their faces, because we want you to see them as what they really are, real people, men, women and children, could be your family, your friends or your neighbors. Please look closely, it’s important that you see them, they are not statistics and numbers, nor a bluer attached to a body, they are real people, human beings just like you and me! #StopBorderCrimes

Nine Children Forced Into A Life Raft By The Greek Coast Guard, And Abandoned At Sea. On the night of Friday 28 June, Aegean Boat Report published an emergency alert regarding a group that had arrived on the uninhabited Greek island of Vatos, north east of Chios, and was in imminent danger of being pushed back by Greek authorities. We immediately published about this group to try to draw attention to it, so that it would have at least a fighting chance. Sometimes, publicity can persuade Greek authorities to do the right thing. This, unfortunately, was not one of those. Shortly after 21.00 all phones went offline, and we understood that something was about to happen. The last message received was a picture of a man, in civilian clothes, t-shirt, shorts, sunglasses and a small bag strapped over his chest, with the text: “This is one of the men who want us to go with them”. The two men who approached the group obviously worked in cooperation with the coast guard, tricking the group to believe they would help them, so that they came willingly, walking straight into the lion’s mouth. Instead of helping the Afghan refugees, they took them to the Greek Coast Guard vessel, transported them back out to sea, and forced them into an engineless raft, abandoning them at sea. This time, one was caught on camera, directly linking him to a serious crime taking place on European soil: the kidnapping of 20 people, detaining them arbitrarily, exposing them to inhuman and degrading treatment and endangering their lives. Full report in link below 👇 aegeanboatreport.com/2024/07…

#GREECE: A boat carrying around 40 #refugees, trying to cross to #Lesvos from #Turkey, was brutally pushed back by the #Greek coast guard this morning. The coast guards destroyed their engine & sprayed them with an unknown white powder. More info: facebook.com/285298881993223…

It’s with a heavy heart that I’m now announcing that Aegean Boat Report is forced to drastically scale down on our operations, due to lack of funding. I have for months tried my utmost to find new financial partners, who see the necessity of our work, and are able and willing, to support our project documenting violence against men, women and children at our borders, unfortunately, so far, this has not been successful. Criminalization by Greek authorities of Aegean Boat Report, and it’s founder Tommy Olsen, has taken its toll. Potential financial partners finds it difficult to support someone, where there is arrest warrants issued, and we are told to return to them when “the legal issues have been resolved”. Anyone who has knowledge of the Greek legal system knows that this will take years to resolve. Aegean Boat Report will continue to monitor the ABR Hotline, our highest priority has always been to assist people asking for help first, everything else will be scaled down to a bare minimum. Eventually, if no substantial sustainable solution is found in the next two months, I will be forced to close down Aegean Boat Report. Yes we are followed by thousands of people, and many relies and use the information we provide in their daily work, especially journalists. But those who will suffer the most, when we close down, will be, and always is, the men, women and children, who on a daily basis rely on our assistance. What is importantly to understand, is that no organization can survive on likes, views and followers alone, it actually takes money. We will in the nearby future, publish more detailed information on the reasons why we are forced to close, if no sustainable solution is found, and the potential negative impact this will have on the current situation in the Aegean Sea, advocacy, and last but not least, for people on the move. I am very sorry to have to publish this, I have postponed this as long as I could, in hope of finding a solution, unfortunately there is at the moment no solution in sight. The bottom line is, if no financial solution is found, Aegean Boat Report, who has been fending for the rights of vulnerable people for seven years, will be closed within a few months. To support our work and help us continue saving lives in the Aegean, please donate through PayPal by clicking on the link below in comments. Thank You for Your Support. Tommy Olsen Aegean Boat Report

8 People Killed After Greek Pushback, Nobody Is Held Accountable Of the 27 people that arrived on Inousses on July 8, there were 17 adults, 4 minors and 6 children, mostly Afghans, but also some Palestinians and Iraqis. 8 of the people was killed by the Greek coast guard in this brutal pushback, 5 Afghans, 2 Palestinians and a woman from Iraq. Survivors told that they had been captured on the island by Greek police, all belongings stolen, taken back out to sea in a grey coast guard vessel and forced into a life raft close to the Turkish island of Karaada. While more and more people are being killed at our borders, the European Commission, instead of trying to stop these barbaric killings, continues to poor money into these operations, no questions asked, as long as the job gets done. This is nothing less than EU-sanctioned killings, and we are more than happy to look the other way, pretending nothing is happening. Our deepest condolences goes out to those who lost loved ones, family and friends. To the Greek authorities we say this, we will never forgive, never forget! Full report with pictures and videos in link below 👇 aegeanboatreport.com/2024/08…

‼️#Greek coast guard performed huge illegal #pushback involving 197 people and 7 life rafts on Wednesday! ‼️

🇬🇷 Coast Guard abandoned 46 people, 6 of them small children, in Life Rafts under severe weather conditions outside Lesvos. This is nothing less than attempted murder, funded by 🇪🇺Commission. @EU_Commission @PrimeministerGR @vonderleyen @EUombudsman

Many speaks about the tragic shipwreck outside Pylos, Greece, as “the worst tragedy ever” in the Mediterranean Sea, it’s actually not. We seem to forget these tragic cases more easily than we would like to admit, and soon this case will also be forgotten. In this news article from @CNN the commissioner @YlvaJohansson is in lack of knowledge or good advisors, forgetting the tragic shipwreck outside Malta on April 18, 2015 where 1050 people drowned, only 28 people was rescued. cnn.com/2023/06/17/world/gre… The boat was recovered and put on display, so that we don’t forget, it seems we still forgot.

We can only speculate of the reason why these cameras was turned off, strangely convenient, but I guess since Greek coast guard vessels are constantly involved in pushbacks, these cameras are rarely on at all, to avoid filming their own crimes.

I’m happy to announce that the 18 people that arrived on Lesvos yesterday, that we published about earlier today, are now safe in the quarantine camp in Megala Therma, Lesvos north. Kudos to all actors involved on Lesvos who made this possible🙏

More evidence comes to light that clearly shows that the Greek authorities and the Greek coast guard are deliberately lying to cover up what really happened, as they did in the Farmakonisi case in 2014

“Today, the EU is turning a page on migration… These structures reflect our values and European ways of life.” @MargSchinas @EU_Commission during the opening of Kos refugee camp. Double fencing and barbed wire, high security prisons for refugees.. our values..

Greek coastguard 'pressured' disaster survivors to blame Egyptian men: "When people replied by saying the Greek coastguard was the cause, the official in charge of the questioning asked the interpreter to tell the interviewee to stop talking," says Ahmad. bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-…

Twenty-five people, 17 of them small children, were arrested on Lesvos, beaten and abused before being set adrift on the open sea in the latest outrage carried out by uniformed Greek operatives. @YlvaJohansson @EU_Commission @nmitarakis @PrimeministerGR aegeanboatreport.com/2022/01…

At least 86 people drowned when a boat carrying refugees from Lebanon sank off the coast of Tartus, Syria. As many as 44 are still missing, death toll could rise to 130, one of the deadliest shipwrecks in the eastern Mediterranean.

Since the Adriana went down, killing over 600 people, we have seen drastic changes in how the coast guard is operating, on land and sea. The norm was to stop anyone from applying for asylum, by any means possible, pushing back people from land and sea, this has now changed. Previously the coast guard didn’t take people to land unless it was absolutely necessary, picking up people from a boat and taking them ashore was almost unheard of, up until now. The Greek authorities and the Greek press wasn’t very interested in publishing about arrivals, unless it was related to a rescue operation, usually involving multiple drowned people, but suddenly both are publishing about arrivals on a daily basis, odd isn’t it. After the Adriana and other disturbing revelations, Greek authorities have been under heavy pressure, especially in relation to pushbacks and the Greek coast guard, they now seems desperate to try to rebuild their image and reputation. Every day the greek press publishes about the heroic rescue operations performed by the greek coast guard, videos are published almost daily, showing how they operate. Don’t take me wrong, it’s great that they suddenly have had a change of heart, that they got some reason are interested in performing their duties, but some of these videos published by the coast guard, well there is something that I can’t quite understand. For years we have seen these mysterious masked men, acting violently, pushing back people at sea and on land, the Greek authorities have denied any knowledge of their existence, so isn’t it strange, that these same mysterious masked men, that the authorities claim do not exist, suddenly appears in these new videos taken and published by the Greek coast guard, I’m just wondering how that happened. These masked men have used black hoodies so that it’s not possible to identify them, in the same way criminals use them while performing a crime. So why are these masked men appearing in these so-called “rescue operations”, why would a coast guard officer feel the need to cover his face while performing a legitimate rescue operation, it’s as you understand highly unusual. So why are these coast guard officers wearing masks while performing a rescue operation? Could it be that it actually started out as something else, a pushback. Pushing back people at sea is these days quite normal in the Aegean Sea, but what if this was a pushback that went terribly wrong, and suddenly people ended up in the sea. I just can’t quite understand why these masked men, who according to Greek authorities, do not exist, suddenly appear in videos published by the Greek coast guard, perhaps a blunder, but the question’s remains. I understand that Greek authorities would try to distance themselves from the crimes committed by these masked men. But it strange that these men, wearing masks, uniforms without any markings, using boats without any identification or flag, are not employed by the Greek government when allegedly committing crimes, but are when they are performing these so called “rescue operations”. Perhaps logical in the eyes of the authorities, for the rest of us not that much.

Frontex involvement in illegal pushbacks in Greece, are ones again proven, this time in a newly released serious Incident Report(SIR) by Frontex own Fundamental Rights Office, from a pushback performed by Greek coast guard outside Lesvos, assisted by Latvian Frontex. In the afternoon of 25 January, a boat carrying 38 people, all Afghans, had almost reached land in the north of Lesvos, when they were stopped by Latvian Frontex and two vessels from the Greek Coast guard, and illegally pushed back to Turkey. Greek authorities denied any involvement, as usual, and claimed that they only stopped a boat from entering Greek territory waters, or as they put it, a “prevention of departure”. On February 2, Frontex Fundamental Rights Office launched a Serious Incident Report(SIR 10463/2024), to “clarify allegations of use of violence at sea and a collective expulsion of migrants”. Their findings and conclusion is crystal clear, the group was illegally and violently pushed back from Greek territory waters by the Greek coast guard, assisted by the Latvian Frontex vessel. Latvian Frontex then covered up for the Greek authorities in their mission report, so that the crime could go unnoticed, business as usual in the Aegean Sea. “The Office notes with regret that reporting of the incident by the Frontex vessel crew in the mission report, as well as by the Greek authorities in****, was incomplète and incorrect, with missing information about the migrants’ presence in Greece, and the second handover of the Incident from Frontex to HCG” The boat was in Greek waters, they were intercepted, their lives were put at risk on several occasions by the Greek coast guard, they were subjected to a prohibited collective expulsion, and both Frontex and the Greek coast guard deliberately covered up the crime by putting incorrect and incomplete information in their mission reports. Since these Frontex reports are not publicly available, and have a high public interest, we have again decided to publish the entire report. It is of the utmost importance that the these reports are made available to everyone, and not only seen by EU politicians and journalists. Greek authorities, supported by Frontex, have again been proven to be involved and responsible for human rights violations in the Aegean Sea. The question is, what will Frontex management board and the European Commission do to stop this? We demand that the European Commission immediately launch infringement proceedings against Greece for systematic and widespread human rights violations, and we demand the ceasing of all Frontex operations in Greece in accordance to article 46 of the Frontex regulation. The complete SIR report can be downloaded from our website.

In 2020, we registered 321 pushbacks in the Aegean Sea. 9,741 children, women & men have had their rights to seek and enjoy asylum been violated by the Hellenic Coast Guard. Life rafts should be used to save people from shipwrecks, not as tools for #illegal deportations. #Greece

Over 60 people were picked up outside #Lesvos yesterday morning by the Turkish Coast Guard, after being abandoned at sea in two life rafts by the Hellenic Coast Guard... It’s strange that European politicians find these atrocities okay. No one's lifting a finger to stop them.

In April, we registered 59‼️ illegal pushbacks in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic Coast Guard. 1,497 children, women and men were denied their right to seek #asylum. What's happening in #Greece are #humanrights violations.

After several days of heavy rain, this is the situation in the new camp on #Lesvos, #Moria 2.0. It’s unbelievable that #Europe can let this happen on European soil in 2020. Over 7,000 people are living in this camp, many of them children, in inhumane conditions...

While the slaughter of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces continues in Gaza, Greek authorities continue their brutal pushback of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge at it’s borders, with no regard for human lives. 14 Palestinians were on Thursday found drifting in a Greek-manufactured life rafts in Turkish waters near the Greek island of Kos, in the southeastern Aegean. The group had been taken onboard a Greek coast guard vessel, on which their papers, valuables and phones were taken away from them. Then they were forced into a life rafts, and left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea. The Greek coast guard was fully aware that they were Palestinians when they forced them into the life raft, and that they were fleeing an ongoing war. The problem is they don’t care, who they are and where they come from doesn’t matter, they are unwanted, “not real refugees” according to Greek officials, “illegal immigrants”, “invaders”.. Border crimes in Greece continue unhindered and unchallenged by the European Council. Not only that, the EU supports and finances these border crimes with Europeans taxpayers’ money, These unacceptable and illegal acts are carried out in your name, using your money. Close to 27,000 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since 8 October 2023: that’s an average of 230 people a day. Thousands of those killed were small children. The daily death rate is higher than in any other 21st Century conflict. In comparison, according to the UN, 10.000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, an average of 13 people a day. Following the call of the EU member state’s home affairs ministers, on 2 March 2022, the EU Commission rapidly proposed to activate the Temporary Protection Directive, under which people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be granted protection. On 4 March 2022, the Council unanimously adopted the decision, only eight days into the invasion. The Israeli slaughter of men, women and children in Gaza has now lasted over 100 days. More than 25,000 people have been killed. When will be the right time for the Council to act? It’s long overdue that the Council triggers the Temporary Protection Directive for people fleeing the slaughter in Gaza, as we did when Russia invaded Ukraine, and offers quick and effective assistance also to Palestinians. The experience of Palestinian people has been and is still atrocious. They have every right to flee, as the alternative is death. The very least we in Europe can do is to ensure they have at least the same rights and opportunities as those Ukrainian people who fled when Russia invaded their country. #StopBorderCrimes

87 People Kidnapped By Greek Coast Guard And Abandoned In Liferafts 87 people, 15 of them small children, was “rescued” by the Greek coast guard, transported on a coast guard vessel, (most likely financed by the European Union) and left drifting in 4 life rafts (most likely paid for by EU) in the middle of the sea. They were transported 62 nautical miles before being forced into these life rafts, the efforts put into this is enormous, there is absolutely no doubt who is responsible. We could conveniently put all responsibility on the Greek authorities, since they are a sovereign nation, and are the ones performing these crimes. But they would have no chance pulling this off by themselves, they basically lack the resources. Behind the scenes The European Commission is pulling the strings, providing all necessary equipment, manpower and funding. At the same time they refuse to open infringement proceedings against Greece, or start independent investigation into these hideous crimes, claiming it is the responsibility of the Greek authorities to investigate themselves. We can’t avoid, and definitely shouldn’t, pointing out that Frontex, The European Border and Coust Guard Agency, is heavily involved in these widespread illegal activities at our borders. As the head of Frontex, Hans Leijtens pointed out, “if we are present we are involved”, and they most definitely present. One would assume that Frontex involvement in illegal activities would have gone down after the former head of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, resigned in April 2022. When Hans Leijtens took office in March 2023, he promised to stop all illegal practices and human rights abuses that had been ongoing under the his predecessor, but did that really happen? If we compare the last 18 months under Leggeri, and the first 18 months under Leijtens, there is actually an increase of 42% in illegal pushbacks in the Aegean Sea. So instead of going down under new management, Frontex involvement in illegal pushbacks is actually drastically increasing. Full report on link below in comments 👇

illegal #pushback carried out by the @HCoastGuard It’s how they, and in some cases also @Frontex, have been operating. We must demand that @nmitarakis , and Fabrice Leggeri, are held to account for their continued, unacceptable, and illegal activity! aegeanboatreport.com/2021/06…

In the morning of October 6, a boat carrying 47 Afghans was stopped by the Greek coast guard after crossing into Greek waters outside Lesvos. The people in the small rubber boat tried the best they could to avoid being stopped, but a rubber boat was no match for a Greek coastal patrol vessel, and the Lambro 57, ID marking ΛΣ-602, stationed on Lesvos, eventually stopped the boat. The video shows how masked men onboard the Greek coast guard vessel are using boat hooks to try to incapacitate the fragile rubber boat. Usually they try to either destroy the engine itself, or cut off the patrol hose. In many cases they, instead of ramming the engine, ends up hurting the people in the boat, or damaging the rubber boat, that potentially could sink it. All 47 were taken onboard the Greek coast guard vessel, and transported back towards Turkey. In the middle of the sea, close to Turkish waters, they were forced into two life rafts and left helplessly drifting, in direct violation of international laws and human rights. At 13.00 pm the Turkish coast guard found and rescued 47 people, many of them small children, from two life rafts drifting outside Dikili, Turkey. This was done in brought daylight, in an area heavily guarded and monitored by the European Border And Coast Guard Agency Frontex, strangely enough they didn’t see anything. It’s actually an incredible achievement, 2.600 registered pushback cases since March 2020 in the Aegean Sea, involving over 70.000 people, and Frontex, with all it’s technology and resources, hav never seen or reported any illegal activities by Greek authorities, it’s just unbelievable. What you see in this short video captured on one of the victims phone is happening every day in the Aegean Sea. Hundreds of people’s rights are violated every single day by Greek authorities, in the name of border protection, while those who have sworn to serve and protect are looking the other way. Many European politicians and institutions seem to have forgotten that human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Today it seems like only a privileged elite is entitled to these rights, many are deemed unworthy, based on skin color, religion and place of birth. #StopBorderCrimes

The #Greek Army just announced that they are going to start a military exercise TODAY with LIVE AMMUNITION on #Lesvos, from Agrielia Kratigos in the south up to Eftalou in the north. Shore and sea areas will be considered a shooting range. Will go on 24/7 until further notice.

This morning we were informed about a boat reported to have been carrying 45 people that had landed south of Palios, Lesvos north east the previous night. After arriving the group fled to the Woods in the surrounding area to hide from Greek authorities, fearing that if they were found they would be illegally returned to Turkey. They told us that they were two small children, a pregnant woman, and a woman with injuries to her hand in the group. They provided documentation on their presence on the island, pictures, videos and location data left no doubt that the groups was on Lesvos. We provided them with the necessary information, so that they themselves could contact local organizations for help. After five hours the group informed us that the organization had arrived, and that they were waiting for a bus to take them to camp. Kudos to all actors involved, without their interventions these cases most likely would have a different outcome.

In June 2023 Aegean Boat Report have registered 57 illegal pushbacks in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic coast guard, 1.242 people, children, women and men, have been denied their right to seek asylum, their human rights have been violated by the Greek government. 10 of these pushback cases was performed by using rescue equipment, where 133 people, children, women and men was placed in a total of 11 life rafts, and left helplessly drifting at sea. We have put together the pictures showing the 11 life rafts that was found drifting in the Aegean Sea in May, carrying 133 people. Over the last three years over 60.000 people have been pushed back in the Aegean Sea in 2.289 cases by Greek authorities, despite the evidence against them, Greek authorities denies any involvement. The European Commission continues to turn a blind eye to systematic human rights violations in Greece. m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…

Palestinian people face ethnic cleansing in Gaza, Greek Coastguard attacks in Greece Even as Palestinian people face the completion of being ethnically-cleansed – under threat of genocide – from Gaza by the Israeli government, the Greek Coastguard continues carrying out vicious and illegal acts against Palestinian people in Greek territory. In the last week, in two similar incidents, the Greek Coastguard, acting under the orders of the Greek government, has broken the law by pushing back 45 Palestinian men, women and children from Greek territory, to prevent them reaching safe places. On 14 February, the Greek Coastguard pushed back 30 people from Greek waters outside Chios. Of those, 26 people were from Palestine. The Turkish Coastguard rescued them at 6.55am, adrift in waters off Cesme, Izmir province. Nor was this the only case last week in which the Greek Coastguard illegally forced Palestinian people from Greek waters. Three days later, on 17 February, the Greek Coastguard pushed back 32 men, women and children, 19 of them Palestinian people, from waters off Kos. The Turkish Coastguard rescued them adrift in waters off Bodrum, in Mugla province, at 8.10am. These are men, women and children seeking safety, which is their legal right, just like the tens of thousands of people the Greek government has illegally forced out of Greek territory in the last four years. They are also people whose fellow countrymen – in some cases their friends, even family members – are being killed, maimed, deprived of food, forced from their homes, and seem extremely likely to be forced from their country altogether in the next few weeks or even days, as the world watches. More than 1.95 million people have been forced from their homes in Gaza. More than 29,000 people have been killed – more than 13,000 of those people were children. The countries of the world keep demanding a cease-fire, an end to the murder of civilians, and the wounding and torture of those who survive – yet the Israeli government and its US ally block all efforts to enable this to happen. There is no excuse for any pushback, ever. They are illegal, and a vicious attack on an international legal structure which is designed to ensure the fewest possible number of people have to suffer exploitation, persecution, and death. A system which protects you and your family, as much as it protects everyone else. But pushing people back when their friends and relatives are being killed in horrifying situations watched by the entire world, and when it is increasingly likely that they will never, ever, be able to return to their homes, or even the ruins that were once their homes, is simply astonishing – a horrifying example of aggression and hatred in action. The Greek government must cease this disgusting, barbaric, practice immediately. And the EU, which does have the power to end the Greek government's illegal and atrocious acts, must do so, now. There is no excuse, nor any hiding place. This is an act of callous, cold, illegal aggression, inflicting pain and suffering on people who have already suffered so much of both. The Greek government must end this activity, and if it will not, the EU must make it. To support our work please donate by clicking on the link below. paypal.com/donate/?hosted_bu…

Illegal and brutal pushbacks of Palestinians fleeing fleeing war and persecution continue in Greece, there is no end to their suffering. Eleven Palestinians were on Saturday found drifting in a Greek-manufactured life raft in Turkish waters near the Greek island of Chios, in the eastern Aegean Sea. The group had been taken onboard a Greek coast guard vessel, on which their papers, valuables and phones were taken away from them, same as the previous group one week ago outside Kastellorizo. Then they were forced into a life raft, and left helplessly drifting at sea. More and more countries in the world are now condemning the Israeli slaughter of Palestinian civilian’s in Gaza, while Greek authorities seem to have no sympathy for people seeking protection in Europe, all in the name of border protection. Border crimes in Greece continue unhindered and unchallenged by the European Council. Not only that, the EU supports and finances these border crimes with Europeans taxpayers’ money, These unacceptable and illegal acts are carried out in your name, using your money. In the last four years almost 80.000 vulnerable people, men, women and children seeking protection in Europe have been illegally and brutally pushed back in the Aegean Sea by Greek authorities. Now more than 26,000 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since 8 October 2023, and the number is rapidly increasing. Thousands of those killed were small children. The daily death rate is higher than in any other 21st Century conflict. It’s long overdue that the European Council triggers the Temporary Protection Directive for people fleeing the slaughter in Gaza, as we did when Russia invaded Ukraine, and offers quick and effective assistance also to Palestinians. #StopBorderCrimes

Here is the weekly report for week 25 2023 from Aegean Boat Report. We have registered 18 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea this week, involving 507 men, women and children. In 1 of these pushback cases the Greek coast guard used a life raft, 14 people was forcibly removed from Lesvos and left helplessly drifting in a life raft outside Ayvacik. For more detailed statistics go to aegeanboatreport.com. / ABR Statistics. Thank You for Your Support.

So far in 2025 Aegean Boat Report has registered a 31% decrease in people arriving on the Greek island, compared to the same period last year. Greek pushbacks are still being covered up by Turkish authorities, boats pushed back are regularly camouflaged as “engine failure” in the Turkish reports. In April we have registered 40 boats arriving on the Greek islands, half of those arrived on Lesvos and Samos, the other half was scattered across the Aegean. A quarter of the boats arriving on the Greek islands landed on small islands like Farmakonisi, Saria, Ikaria, Nisiros, Agathonisi, Karpathos and Symi. Support on these islands is nonexistent. Since January 2020, we have registtered 3.383 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, performed by the Hellenic coast guard, involving 92.860 men, women and children. 1.099 of these cases was performed by using rescue equipment/life rafts, 29.216 people was left drifting in 1.685 life rafts in the Aegean Sea. No investigation has ever been launched by the European Parliament in relation to these violations. For more detailed statistics go to aegeanboatreport.com. / ABR Statistics. To support our work and help us continue assisting vulnerable people on the move, you can donate by clicking on the link below👍 whydonate.com/en/fundraising… If you prefer you can also donate through PayPal: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_bu… Thank You for Your Support. Tommy Olsen Aegean Boat Report

Here is the weekly report for week 24 2023 from Aegean Boat Report. We have registered 18 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea this week, involving 298 men, women and children. In 2 of these pushback cases the Greek coast guard used life rafts, 29 people was forcibly removed from Greek islands and left helplessly drifting in 2 life rafts in the Aegean Sea. For more detailed statistics go to aegeanboatreport.com. / ABR Statistics. Thank You for Your Support.

In the early morning of Monday November 13, at 07.30, a boat carrying 23 afghans, mostly families with children, was stopped 100 meters from land east of Korakas, Lesvos north by a vessel from the Greek coast guard. In the video, that was taken by one of the passengers, we can clearly see the cliffs of Korakas on the right side. We can also see a little white building on the left in the first 10 seconds of the video, it’s the chapel "Agios Theodoras". There is absolutely no question where this video was taken, any local can confirm that this is east of Korakas, Lesvos north. Masked men used boat hooks with iron tips to destroy the engine, in the process hitting and injuring several people onboard, amongst them an old man and a child. The masked coast guard officers took no notice of this, and continued to hit down hard toward the fragile rubber boat until the engine was destroyed. Everyone onboard was terrified, we can hear people screaming hysterically, it’s just unbelievable that members of a European coast guard agency, who have sworn an oath to protect human lives, can perform such atrocities, it’s just appalling. The group of 23 men, women and children were taken onboard the coast guard vessel, the masked officers told them that they would take them to a “UN camp”, this was unfortunately a lie. When everyone was onboard the coast guard vessel, the masked men ordered everyone to hand over their phones, money and other valuables, those who refused were brutally beaten. All phones was immediately thrown into the sea, it was quite obvious that they didn’t want any evidence of their crimes. In most cases people don’t hide their phones, in fear of what will happen to them if the phones are found. This time one of them kept his cool, and hid the phone under his child’s clothes, this phone was later used to call the international emergency number 112 that resulted in them being rescued. The group was kept on the coast guard vessel for almost two hours, the vessel, a Lambro 57 coastal patrol vessel ΛΣ-144, belonging to the Hellenic coast guard, stationed on Lesvos. While onboard, the vessel moved slowly away from Lesvos towards the Turkish sea border, they had never any intention on taking anyone to a camp. At the Turkish sea border outside Ayvacik, the Greek coast guard vessel forced the group back in the rubber boat, 23 people, men, women and children, those who couldn’t clime down into the boat was thrown down, everything was done at gunpoint, they had no choice. The Greek coast guard vessel pulled away, and the group was left helplessly drifting in the middle of the sea, in a rubber boat with no engine, the Greek officers had taken it off and dropped it into the sea. Luckily they had managed to hide one phone, this was used to contact rescue services, and at 11.05 am they were found drifting outside Ayvacik by the Turkish coast guard. Some might say this is an isolated incident, unfortunately it’s not, this is the normal routine happening every single day all over the Aegean Sea. In the last four years 75.000 people have been illegally pushed back in the Aegean Sea by Greek authorities, all in the name of border protection. This was all done in brought daylight in an area heavily monitored by Frontex, strangely enough, nobody saw anything, no report was filed, all reported to be normal. And in many aspects it’s actually exactly what it is, normal, because this has now been going on for four years, night and day, everyone knows that these atrocities are taking place, but nobody is doing anything to stop it. These men onboard the coast guard vessel isn’t coast guard officers, just criminals with a badge, they and so many other officers in the Greek coast guard should be put behind bars where they belong. To hide behind “just following orders” won’t save them, because they know that these orders are illegal, in direct violation of the law of the sea, international law and human rights law. #StopBorderCrimes

Yesterday, a boat carrying approx. 28 people landed on #Lesvos. The people fled to the woods after landing, scared to be returned to #Turkey by #Greek coast guard. ABR has been in contact with the group, to document their arrival & make sure that we can prove that they arrived.

27 children pushed back by Greek authorities! ⚠️ 57 people tried to cross from #Turkey to #Lesvos Wednesday morning. Already deep inside Greek waters, they were stopped by the Greek Coast Guard, had their engine destroyed and were towed back over the border into Turkish waters.

Tragedy unfolding in Evros, Charred bodies of 18 refugees found in Dadia forest. An unimaginable tragedy is unfolding against the backdrop of the great fire in Evros, as firefighters have reportedly found charred bodies of refugees in the forest of Dadia. As Lieutenant General Yiannis Artopoios announced, near a shack in a forest area, 18 refugees were found charred in two different places. He said a 112 emergency evacuation message had been sent to all mobile phones in the area, also those using foreign networks. tvxs.gr/news/ellada/tragodia…

The documentary film Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?, where the founder of Aegean Boat Report, Tommy Olsen has been a consultant, is finally coming out tomorrow, Monday 17th June, 9PM, BBC Two. “A deeply disturbing documentary that ought to have several repercussions. Greek and EU authorities are accused of, at best, negligence leading to migrants drowning at sea - but there’s evidence of worse happening to those who make it. Many of the interviews are stunning.” Jack Seal Unfortunately it is only broadcasting in the UK, but possible to watch with VPN across the world. “Hiding in the crystal blue waters of the Aegean Sea lies a dark secret. If true, the Greek islands have become much more than a sun-drenched paradise for those living the holiday dream. There are dark rumours of EU-funded boats carrying masked men, people being rounded up on land, forced onto coast guard boats and then abandoned in flimsy rubber dinghies at sea. There are multiple cases of people subsequently losing their lives. Are these masked men responsible? Against this troubling background, in June 2023, an overloaded trawler flips in front of a Greek coast guard patrol boat. More than 600 men, women and children die in the water. A billionaire’s super yacht takes survivors to shore. The accounts of these survivors suggest that coast guard is at fault – something the Greek authorities deny.” Tune in tomorrow on BBC Two at 9PM, you will find it not only interesting, but also truly shocking, this is the reality for people seeking protection in today’s Europe. bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020ct…

An Important Step Forward In Our Fight Against Pushbacks! aegeanboatreport.com/2022/02…

Why would anyone believe that there were 6 human traffickers on this rubber boat, it’s just not logical, not even in Greece. Criminalization of people on the move must stop!

⚠️ Possible huge pushback ongoing outside Samos! ⚠️ The 105 men, women and children will most likely be forced into life rafts in the Aegean Sea, left drifting as we speak. This is the brutal reality for #refugees at #Europe's borders. m.facebook.com/story.php?sto… #Greece

8 People Killed After Greek Pushback, Nobody Is Held Accountable – Aegean Boat Report aegeanboatreport.com/2024/08…

⚠️18 people in imminent danger of being pushed back from Lesvos⚠️ Local organizations and legal actors has been informed, and given all necessary information to be able to intervene, and prevent authorities from pushing this group back to Turkey. facebook.com/100064851724634…

⚠️Survivors claims that 3 people drowned after they were forced in life rafts by the Hellenic Coast Guard on 19 December⚠️ More information here: facebook.com/AegeanBoatRepor… #Greece #refugees

This morning disaster struck again, this time outside the Greek island of Chios, where 8 people drowned, as a direct result of a pushback performed by the Greek Coast Guard. Turkish authorities announced this morning that a total of 19 people was found alive, 18 on the Turkish island of Karaada, and 1 picked up in the sea by a local fisherman, while 8 bodies had been recovered from the sea. sg.gov.tr/izmir-ili-cesme-il… Survivors said that they had been placed in a life raft by the Greek Coast Guard, and that the raft hit the rocky shore of the island, those who couldn’t swim drowned. Yesterday morning a group of 27 people had arrived on the Greek island of Inousses, and contacted Alarmphone for assistance. Yesterday morning they publish “🆘 A group of 27 people landed on the small island of Inousses, next to Chios. The last information was that local police arrived on scene. Since then we cannot reach them anymore. Local authorities claim to have no information about the group. Where are they?”. As they said, “local police arrived on scene”, and after that all contact with the group was lost, “local authorities claim to have no information”, this is unfortunately not unusual, and usually end up as a pushback, this time the group paid the ultimate price, 8 people died, killed by the illegal actions of the Greek authorities. According to official arrival numbers, no people were officially registered as arrived on Chios yesterday. Several groups have lately been pushed back from this area, last week we published about a group who arrived on the neighboring island, Vatos, who was kidnapped and pushed back in a life raft, they also ended up on Karaada, perhaps lucky, non of them drowned. aegeanboatreport.com/2024/07… Most likely these two pushbacks was performed by the same people, it follows the same pattern, unfortunately in this case, there is no footage available from their presence on Inousses. How many more men, women and children must be killed by Greek authorities before the European Commission takes action?

What is happening to Afghans in Turkey? We have previously published about large groups of people, Afgan families, who have been taken from camps in coastal areas and transported across Turkey to the border to Iran. Now they are also rounded up in large numbers and transported to the Harran container camp in Şanlurfa province, close to the Syrian border. Previously this camp has been hosting Syrian refugees, all Syrians have been removed and the camp is now used to host Afghan families. Read the full article, link in comments👇

Greek coastguard threw migrants overboard to their deaths, witnesses say - BBC News bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0vv…

Greek authorities continues to brutally push back people in the Aegean Sea, yesterday 75 people were found drifting in 5 life rafts, amongst them 23 small children. What kind of human would force small children into life rafts, and leave them helplessly drifting at sea? Four life rafts carrying 55 people, 13 of them small children, was found drifting inside Turkish territory waters north of the Greek island of Rhodes, while one life raft carrying 20 people, 10 of them children, was found drifting north of Kastellorizo. As long as @govgr are supported and funded by @Frontex and the @EU_Commission , these illegal activities will continue, and more lives will be unnecessarily lost at other borders. These pushbacks, where men, women and small children, are left helplessly drifting at sea, is today’s EU policy in practice. The European Commission, the “Guardian of the Treaties”, led by @vonderleyen, is deliberately failing to protect people seeking protection at our doorstep. To let Ursula von der Leyen continue her misdeeds would be a grave mistake.

⚠️Emergency Alert From A Boat Carrying 85 People North West of Lesvos⚠️ A wooden boat reported to be carrying approximately 85 people contacted Aegean Boat Report for assistance. They reported that the engine broke down and the boat is taking in water. We are informed that there are 25 small children onboard. We immediately informed the Hellenic Coast Guard Search And Rescue Center, all necessary information was provided. From footage received from the people onboard, a small RIB carrying several masked men approached the drifting boat, and then pulled away. The RIB can be seen in the distance, only watching. We have seen this RIB before on Lesvos in relation to pushbacks several times, this gives reason for concern for the safety of the people onboard the wooden boat. The wind and the current in the area is taking the drifting boat closer to land, hopefully the Greek Coast Guard already have initiated rescue, so the boat don’t drift into the cliffs south east of Skala Eresou. We are currently monitoring the situation, so far no rescue vessels have arrived. More pictures available on our Facebook post

While an old video of an alleged pushback outside Lesvos seems to be going viral on social media, what is currently taking place in the Aegean Sea seems to be going unnoticed by most. On Wednesday, two days ago, 38 small children were found drifting in life rafts in the Aegean Sea, for some reason, that truly shocking event wasn’t mentioned by anyone. I guess not as important as something that happened years ago. 38 small children forced into life rafts by the Greek coast guard, left helplessly drifting at sea, and nobody cares, nobody screaming their lungs out on social media, no massive posts, no organization demanding answers and accountability, basically nothing. It’s strange to see that we choose to care so much about what happened a long time ago, and remain silent and seemingly indifferent on what is happening now. The people in the video that went viral is according to the source all safe in Europe, the 38 small children in this new video is most definitely not. These 38 children are all Afghans, many of them small girls, currently being kept behind bars in a EU funded removal center in Turkey, awaiting deportation to Afghanistan through Iran, funded by European tax payers money. 38 small children forced back, probably awaiting a bright future, especially the small girls, under the ruthless Taliban regime.

During the night a boat carrying 13 people arrived east of Tsilia, Lesvos south. The group’s contacted Aegean Boat Report this morning asking for assistance. After arriving the new arrivals fled to the woods in the surrounding area to hide from Greek authorities, fearing that if they were found they would be illegally returned to Turkey. The group consisted of 6 men, 4 women and 3 children, one of the women was pregnant and in need of medical attention. They provided documentation on their presence on the island, pictures, videos and location data left no doubt that the group was on Lesvos. We provided them with the necessary information, so that they themselves could contact local organizations for help, the group later confirmed that they had reached out to the organizations. This afternoon we lost contact with the group, over a period of two hours all three phones went offline. What has happened to them is so far unknown. Hopefully local organizations reached the group, and they have been transported to the RIC on Lesvos, provided with food, water, medical attention, and given the opportunity to apply for international protection.

While all eyes are fixed on The Middle East, border crimes continues in Greece. In the early morning of Monday November 13, at 07.30, a boat carrying 23 afghans, mostly families with children, was stopped 100 meters from land east of Korakas, Lesvos north by a vessel from the Greek coast guard. In the video, that was taken by one of the passengers, we can clearly see the cliffs of Korakas on the right side. We can also see a little white building on the left in the first 10 seconds of the video, it’s the chapel "Agios Theodoras". There is absolutely no question where this video was taken, any local can confirm that this is east of Korakas, Lesvos north. Masked men used boat hooks with iron tips to destroy the engine, in the process hitting and injuring several people onboard, amongst them an old man and a child. The masked coast guard officers took no notice of this, and continued to hit down hard toward the fragile rubber boat until the engine was destroyed. Everyone onboard was terrified, we can hear people screaming hysterically, it’s just unbelievable that members of a European coast guard agency, who have sworn an oath to protect human lives, can perform such atrocities, it’s just appalling. The group of 23 men, women and children were taken onboard the coast guard vessel, the masked officers told them that they would take them to a “UN camp”, this was unfortunately a lie. Read the full report with pictures and videos in the link below 👇 #StopBorderCrimes aegeanboatreport.com/2023/11…

11 people drowned, 7 of them Children, after a pushback performed by Greek authorities. How many children needs to die before something is done?, yesterday 7 drowned, is that enough?@Europarl_EN @EU_Commission @YlvaJohansson @PrimeministerGR @nmitarakis aegeanboatreport.com/2022/09…

1/2 A 7 minute interview with Mohammed, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee who has been living in the UK since 2018, his 21-year-old cousin was on the boat, and are one of over 500 missing. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fvwt…

Afghan Refugees Tortured on Farmakonisi By 🇬🇷Guards, it seemed to amuse them” one of the victims explained, “we had done nothing wrong, we are fleeing from torture, trying to find safety, to be tortured in Europe when we arrive, where is the humanity?”aegeanboatreport.com/2022/06…

The last five years over 5.000 children have been left helplessly drifting in life rafts by Greek authorities. When people read this, most have very difficult to understand that this is actually today’s reality, we refuse to take in the severity of this, and brush it off as fake news, unfortunately it’s not, it’s very much real. In most countries in Europe, anyone doing this to children would face very long time behind bars, including a full psychological evaluation, but not in Greece. There they are applauded and promoted for a service well done, heroes of Greece, and literally nobody is doing anything to stop it, if this isn’t rock bottom, I don’t know what is. How can anyone do this to small children, and call themselves humans afterwards? Take a close look at their faces, how could anyone do this, and not be seen as anything else than monsters? When small defenceless children are thrown into life rafts and abandoned in the middle of the sea by authorities, and we don’t raise our voice, there is something terribly wrong with us. How long can these atrocities be ignored by the rest of Europe, what will it take to force the European Commission to act against a member state? Killing hundreds of children and crimes against humanity, is obviously not enough! Take a close look at the pictures, this is done on our watch, in our name. 76 more pictures from these cases on our Facebook post. To support our work and help us continue saving lives in the Aegean, please donate through PayPal by clicking on the link below 👇👍 paypal.com/donate/?hosted_bu…

⚠️ Small children left drifting in life rafts! ⚠️ 13 people were forcibly removed from a #refugee camp on #Lesvos on 17 Feb. They were forced into an isobox, beaten with batons and forced into the sea on an inflatable life raft. For all details, see aegeanboatreport.com/2021/02…

Italian Frontex involved in pushback of 25 people outside Lesvos this afternoon facebook.com/285298881993223… @YlvaJohansson @EU_Commission @nmitarakis

Several boats arriving on Lesvos this morning, number of people arriving on the Greek islands continues to rise. At first light the Greek coast guard arrived in Mytilini harbor 07.30, after picking up a group of refugees, most likely from a boat in the sea area around Lesvos, number of people not confirmed but could be around 30 people. Aegean Boat Report was contacted at 08.50 this morning by a group of approximately 50 people that was drifting in a rubber boat south west of Plomari. The group reported that there were 20 men, 15 women and 15 children in the boat. At 10.30 the group told us that the Greek coast guard had picked them up, but they didn’t know where they would be taken. Scared from previous experiences they feared that they would be pushed back to Turkey. The officers onboard was wearing black masks, these masked men they knew all to well, and knew what they were capable of after encountering them in the past, they told us several times that they were very scared, and that these masked men was taking all their phones. We followed them on live location on WhatsApp, we could see that they were heading directly towards Mytilíni harbor, we informed the group that they would be taken to land, and not pushed back, to try to calm them down. Just outside the airport we lost contact with the group on the coast guard vessel, most likely had their phones been taken away from them, but we are quite confident that the group was taken into port, and not pushed back. We were also informed that MSF had attended a third landing on the island this morning, if this is accurate and how many people that arrived we have not been able to confirm. So far no official information on today’s arrivals has been published by Greek authorities. Arrivals on the Greek islands continue to rise, the last five weeks arrivals has increased 190%, in the same period pushbacks has decreased 90%. Interesting developments in Greece, it seems that Greek authorities have drastically changed their tactics, for the time being at least, will it last, only time will tell, but one thing seems quite clear, Greek coast guard have started picking up boats that are close to land, taking them ashore, and those who manage to arrive on the Greek islands are no longer hunted down and pushed back, they are allowed to stay. Is it a positive development, most certainly, will it last, I’m not that confident, but let’s hope it does.

A boat in distress outside Samos contacted Aegean Boat Report at first light this morning, the boat was drifting after the Greek Coast Guard had removed their engine and left them helplessly drifting in the sea. The boat was carrying 22 people, many of them small children. The passengers were afghan families trying to find protection in Europe. The boat was inside Greek territory waters when it was stopped by a Lambro 57 patrol vessel belonging to the Hellenic Coast Guard, stationed on Samos. After the coast guard had performed the pushback, they sent an email to the Turkish coast guard informing them of the location of the drifting rubber boat, this is standard procedure by the Greek Coast Guard whenever they have pushed back a boat or left people drifting in life rafts in Turkish waters. 22 people was located and picked up by the Turkish coast guard at 08.00, all are now back in Turkey.

Last night a boat carrying 22 people, 7 children, 6 women and 9 men, arrived west of Korakas, Lesvos north, east of Skala Sikamineas. The group is now safe in the quarantine camp, Kudos to all across involved. m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…

40 people arrived on Lesvos last night, 11 of them are now safe in camp, 29 was arrested, beaten and robbed before thrown in a life raft by Greek coast guard, left helplessly drifting in the Aegean Sea, this is Greek border management m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…