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[[Greek authorities have been caught on film apparently forcing asylum seekers into a life raft and abandoning them at sea. Human rights groups have long accused Athens of such practices. Greece denies carrying out so-called pushbacks and says it has launched an investigation into the video. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptWRD23 GREECE MIGRANT PUSHBACK VIDEO
HEADLINE: Greece Probes Video Purportedly Showing Migrants Forcibly Abandoned at Sea
TEASER: The New York Times video ostensibly shows migrants forcibly ejected from Greek waters by masked men in conjunction with Greek coast guard
PUBLISHED AT: 05/25/2023 at 12:30pm
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell, Agencies, Courtesy
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Steve Hirsch, LR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): The New York Times / Fayad Mulla, Zoom, AFP, APTN, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:20pm
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[Greek authorities have been caught on film apparently forcing asylum seekers into a life raft and abandoning them at sea. Human rights groups have long accused Athens of such practices. Greece denies carrying out so-called pushbacks and says it has launched an investigation into the video. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: ‘THE NEW YORK TIMES / FAYAD MULLA’))
The video – published this week by The New York Times - purports to show a group of migrants taken to the shoreline of the Greek island of Lesbos on April 11, in an unmarked white van. The group of 12 includes several small children.
They are led by masked men to an inflatable boat, then taken to a Greek coast guard vessel offshore which then sails further away from the coastline.
The migrants are seemingly forced into an inflatable life raft and abandoned in the middle of the Aegean Sea. They were reportedly picked up by the Turkish coast guard an hour later.
The footage, which has not been independently verified by VOA, was filmed by Fayad Mulla of the Austrian political organization Der Wandel,
((end courtesy))
who has spent several years documenting the treatment of migrants landing on Greek shores. He says he has witnessed many such "pushbacks.”
((Fayad Mulla, ‘Der Wandel’ (in English) ))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“On average, it’s every second day that the Turkish coast guard finds a life raft somewhere at the Aegean borders between Turkey and Greece. This is going on for three years. This is a major operation by the Greek state. So, I had the idea the only solution was to get a video of these crimes and to publish it.”
((NARRATOR))
The Greek government denies conducting pushbacks, despite widespread evidence to the contrary. In January, VOA reported on the death of Turkish migrant Barış Büyüksu. Ankara says he died after being tortured on the Greek island of Kos and forced into a dinghy that was pushed back into Turkish waters. Athens denied any knowledge or responsibility.
((Fayad Mulla, ‘Der Wandel’ (in English) ))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“We see the breaking of multiple laws. Crimes in Greece like kidnapping, taking the freedom away from people, refusal of giving the people a fair asylum procedure, deporting them. And then, of course, the breaking of law - international as well as European level.”
((cf. courtesy ‘THE NEW YORK TIMES’ ))
((Narrator))
The New York Times says it tracked the migrants to a detention facility in the Turkish city of Izmir and said it verified the events depicted in the video.
((end courtesy))
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reacted, describing the video as a "completely unacceptable practice" – but insisted his government’s migrant policy was "tough but fair.”
Mitsotakis has called on the European Union to offer more help over migration. Analysts say there is little sign of any agreement.
((Camino Mortera-Martinez, Centre for European Reform))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“Burden sharing is a question for many governments in the European Union. But I think they have resigned themselves in a way to the fact that they will not find a common solution, at least in the short term. And what's happening at the moment, in my view, is that this means that is every country for themselves.”
((NARRATOR))
The European Union has called on Greece to open an independent inquiry. Critics say the EU is already fully aware of what is happening on its southern shores.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
London
Embargo DateMay 25, 2023 16:28 EDT
Byline
Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
