80,000 illegal pushbacks recorded at Europe's external borders in 2025: NGOs report

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - At least 80,865 cases of illegal pushbacks were recorded at Europe's external borders in 2025, according to a report Tuesday by a coalition of international human rights organizations, including the Brussels-based 11.11.11.

Pushbacks, the report said, involve migrants being forcibly returned across borders without access to asylum procedures, often accompanied by violence.

"They threw us in the river at three in the morning," said a young Egyptian male who survived a pushback along the Balkan route.

He was traveling with 40 others, including 12 minors, and described being beaten and stripped before being forced into a river at the Bosnia and Herzegovina border.

"These practices are entirely illegal under European law and the UN Refugee Convention," said the report, highlighting that pushbacks violate the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals without an assessment of their protection needs.

The report noted that pushbacks are a "systematic policy" rather than isolated incidents.

In January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that illegal pushbacks in Greece were not isolated but part of a systematic approach.

But reports of violence, including deadly incidents at sea, continued.

Earlier this month, 15 people died after their boat reportedly collided with the Greek coast guard, with survivors claiming the vessel was deliberately blocked from reaching shore.

Bulgaria has also been implicated in deadly pushbacks.

The rights groups emphasize that recorded pushbacks may underestimate the scale of the problem, as many incidents occur in remote border areas or at sea.

Flor Didden, migration policy expert at 11.11.11, said European authorities have not shown the same scrutiny toward pushbacks as they have toward US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

"Where is that same moral clarity when European border authorities abuse, rob and let people die?" asked Didden.

The report urges European authorities to end illegal pushbacks, ensure access to asylum procedures, and guarantee the safety and human rights of all migrants.​​​​​​​