Migrant shot dead by Greek coast guard in Aegean Sea

The Greek coast guard said in a statement that shots were fired, first into the air, and then at the engine of the speedboat smuggling migrants, in order to “avert the direct threat to the patrol boat and its crew.” The helmsman of the migrant boat had reportedly ignored several calls to stop and “repeatedly carried out extremely dangerous maneuvers, ramming the patrol boat.”

When the boat came to a halt, one passenger was found to have been fatally wounded “probably by a bullet,” according to the statement.

The remaining 13 people on the speedboat – including five children – were unharmed and were taken to the southeast Aegean Sea island of Symi.

Investigation underway

The deceased passenger was identified as a 39-year-old man. His nationality was not immediately made public but according to the Reuters news agency, he is believed to be from Kuwait.

An investigation has been launched, according to coastguard sources who spoke to Reuters. According to unverified reports, a Greek prosecutor has also ordered the arrest of the coastguard officer who fired the shots.

Two of the men travelling on the speedboat were arrested on suspicion of being migrant smugglers.

The coast guard said that the migrant vessel had set off from nearby Turkey.

Also read: Migrants to Europe face ‘inhuman’ pushbacks — report

Reports of violence against migrants at sea

Greece has repeatedly come under fire for using force against migrants at sea. Human rights organizations say that the treatment of migrants trying to reach Greek shores via the Aegean Sea has resulted in dozens of deaths during so-called pushbacks — the practice of turning migrants and refugees back without allowing them to lodge an asylum claim.

By April 2023, the Norwegian NGO Aegean Boat Report (ABR) had registered “57 illegal pushbacks in the Aegean Sea” by the Greek coast guard. 

The rights group found in that in April alone, over 1,700 people were “denied their right to seek asylum” in Greece and that “their human rights [were] violated by the Greek government.”

ABR says that over the past three years there have been 2,167 instances of pushback from Greece to Turkey, resulting in 58,000 cases of people being denied their right to seek asylum.

Greece denies that it is responsible for illegal pushbacks of migrants.

Also read: Greece: Violence against migrants ‘normalized’ — MSF

Frontex under fire again

A report of an investigation by the Fundamental Rights Office – which is charged with monitoring the implementation of rights obligations by the EU’s border agency Frontex – concludes that the Greek coast guard was assisted in an illegal and violent pushback by a Frontex vessel, which then covered up for Greek authorities in its mission report.

The findings of the investigation, published internally on July 29, 2024, say that at the beginning of the year, a migrant vessel had initially been stopped by Frontex on its way to the Greek island of Lesbos.

“When it continued approaching Lesbos, the Frontex vessel and a Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG) speedboat tried to prevent it from continuing the journey, allegedly by dangerously maneuvering, making waves and using sticks against the engine and the migrants on the boat,” the report read.

Also read: New Frontex boss vows to protect human rights

The document highlighted that the Greek authorities and Frontex officers involved in the incident, which took place on January 25, 2024, may have acted in violation of European Union law, including the right to life and the prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment.

The assessment concluded that “under these circumstances, the decision of the migrants to return to Türkiye cannot be considered entirely as an expression of their free will.”

There have been many other, similar accusations against Frontex in the past, with damaging claims resulting in the resignation of former Frontex head Fabrice Leggeri, now a member of the European Parliament and France’s far-right National Rally party.

Under its new leadership, Frontex has vowed to adjust its practices.

Also read: EU data authority launches probe into Frontex migrant interview breaches

Greece still among top migrant destinations

According to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, nearly 30,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by irregular means so far this year. The majority of them depart from Turkey, although there is also an increasing rate of arrivals from Libya.

Most migrants and refugees hoping to reach Greece are Afghan, Syrian or Egyptian nationals.

with AP, Reuters