Turkish coast guard accuses Greek counterpart of pushbacks

Turkey’s coast guard on Monday issued a statement accusing its Greek counterpart of pushbacks, saying that “Greece is responsible for every single irregular migrant who dies on these dangerous crossings.”

“The stories of irregular migrants rescued by the Turkish coast guard in almost all pushback incidents continue to reveal to the world’s public opinion how Greece disregards the lives of migrants and pushes them back into Turkish territorial waters,” the Turkish coast guard was quoted by Daily Sabah as saying in the statement.

“Many migrants were beaten, handcuffed, had their valuables taken, their boat engines taken, their petrol hoses cut and even their hands handcuffed and thrown into the sea, without care for women or children, and are brought back to life with the successful search and rescue operations organized by our command,” the statement added.

Source: ekathimerini.com