The Coast Guard Command rescued 159 irregular migrants after Greek authorities pushed them into Turkish territorial waters, the agency announced Monday.
After receiving information about irregular migrants in rubber boats, teams were dispatched off the coast of Ayvacık district in northwestern Çanakkale province. A total of 66 people were rescued, the agency said.
Separately, coast guard teams rescued 53 migrants off the coast of the Ayvalık district in the Balıkesir province and 40 more people off the coast of the Datça district in the western Muğla province following reports that there were groups of irregular migrants in rubber boats sailing in the waters.
Türkiye has been a critical transit point for irregular migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Human rights groups and media outlets have frequently reported on illegal pushbacks and other human rights breaches by Greek authorities.
Ankara and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.
Hundreds of people have died at sea as many boats carrying refugees sank or capsized. A report by Türkiye’s Ombudsman Institution said earlier in July this year that Greece has pushed back nearly 42,000 asylum seekers since 2020 and the Turkish Coast Guard Command has rescued 18,487 irregular migrants pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek forces over the first 10 months this year, the agency revealed last month.
A top lawmaker from Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Ömer Çelik, recently argued the pushbacks were occurring within the European Union’s knowledge, saying, “The crimes that Frontex and the Greek coast security jointly committed are crimes against humanity.”
Frontex supervises the 27-nation EU’s outside borders. The agency is under pressure over allegations that it was involved in the illegal pushbacks of migrants, notably in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Türkiye.
A report by the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, examined Frontex activities in Greece from spring to autumn 2020 and found that the agency was not investigating or handling evidence of migrant pushbacks correctly and at times was attempting to cover them up or not reporting them at all.
Late in November, pro-migration humanitarian groups in Greece also said the Greek government continued “toughening its anti-migration stance” and “waging a witch-hunt” against refugees as well as their defenders, with some campaigners even stepping away from the struggle.
Despite in-depth investigations by media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), alongside abundant testimony from victims, Greek authorities have consistently denied pushbacks.
Greece's conservative government, elected in 2019, has vowed to make the country "less attractive" to migrants.
