Nongovernmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Tuesday that three migrants were found handcuffed and four seriously injured on the Greek island of Lesbos, the latest reported attack on would-be refugees.
MSF said one of its emergency teams received "an official alert" on Thursday about a group of people "in need of urgent medical care" who had just arrived on Lesbos, one of the points of entry for would-be asylum-seekers and migrants into the European Union.
"We started to hear a lot of screaming," said Teo Di Piazza, MSF project coordinator in Lesbos.
"We found 22 people and everybody was crying. Three people were handcuffed very tightly with plastic bundles. Four others were injured. Based on their reports, the injuries were due to violence," Piazza added.
MSF said it had called in an emergency psychologist, referred the injured people to the hospital and notified the police.
The Greek government, which has been repeatedly accused of pushing flimsy migrant boats back out to sea towards Türkiye, thus preventing the passengers from making asylum claims on Greek territory, has not reacted to the MSF report.
Di Piazza said the group had described being approached by "seven or eight people ... saying they were doctors and they had food.
"They reportedly started to beat them and handcuff them" and had run away when they heard the MSF team approaching, she said.
MSF said it had heard "similar testimonies of violence occurring" to people arriving on Lesbos and the nearby island of Samos.
"These reports are extremely concerning and we urge the appropriate state authorities to take all necessary measures to prevent and stop such incidents from happening. People must have access to safe reception, protection, and asylum procedures," it said.
Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming 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.