EU probe exposes border agency complicity in Greek pushbacks: Report

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) – The complicity of the EU border agency in Greece’s illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers has been exposed by a secret new watchdog report.

The report by OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud watchdog, revealed Frontex’s involvement in Greece’s cruel pushbacks, which have been widely criticized by Turkey and various human rights groups, German newsweekly Der Spiegel reported Tuesday.

According to the investigation, Frontex staff consistently testified that the agency’s senior management covered up illegal acts, including the leaving of migrants adrift in engineless life rafts, a well-documented pushback tactic of the Greek Coast Guard.

The report is so sensitive that only Frontex Management Board members have been given access to it so far, the magazine said, adding that OLAF did however present the essence of it to representatives of the Frontex Board and, separately, to a committee of EU parliamentarians in the presence of Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri.

The magazine said Leggeri and his top executives have so far remained unscathed by the revelations of consistent violations of human rights in areas where the agency operates, thanks to the support of key allies, but this could change once OLAF's report is made public.

- Frontex

Founded in 2005, Frontex is an agency of the European Union tasked with managing the bloc’s external land and sea borders.

More controversially, it has been accused of involvement in illegal pushbacks of migrants and refugees at the EU’s external borders, including in Greece, Croatia, and Romania. The pushbacks violate the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in international refugee law.

The agency has come under scrutiny from human rights groups and several institutions and legal bodies.

- Greece’s illegal pushback policy

Human rights groups and leading media outlets have frequently reported illegal pushbacks and other human rights breaches of Greek authorities that violate EU and international law.

This February, at least 19 irregular migrants were found frozen to death around the Turkish-Greek border after being pushed back to Turkey by Greece.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu criticized Greece for the inhuman and degrading treatment of irregular migrants, saying those who were found dead were stripped of their clothes and shoes by the Greek border guards. Greece denied any involvement.