Επαναπροώθηση Frontex – ΛΣ-ΕΛΑΚΤ Χίος 27/07/2020

Aristotelis Tokatlidis
  • Date of incident: 27-7-2020
  • Location: Chios Island
  • Law enforcement involved: Hellenic Coast Guards
  • Number of people pushed back: 25
  • Nationalities: –
  • How many had documents for sure: –
  • Demographics (women, children, etc): –
  • Method of expulsion: Petrol was removed from the boat, left adrift on the sea.
  • Documenting organisation: Aegean Boat Report / Alarm Phone
  • Description: The boat was stopped by the Greek coast guard vessel. After petrol was removed from the boat, Greek coast guard towed it to the Turkish border and left it adrift.
  • Documents: 1)https://www.facebook.com/AegeanBoatReport/posts/884851778704594 

Aegean Boat Report

29 Ιουλίου στις 10:45 π.μ.  

On Monday morning, July 27th, a boat carrying 25 people was trying to cross from Cèsme, Turkey to Chios Greece.

The boat was stopped by the Greek coast guard vessel (make and model: Motomarine Pathner 57 MkII class patrol boat) LS-611, who is stationed on Chios, inside Greek territorial waters. After petrol was removed from the boat, Greek coast guard towed it to the Turkish border and left it adrift. 

After a few hours they were eventually picked up by the Turkish coast guard outside Cape Karaabdullah, Cèsme.

From videos received when stopped by Greek coast guard, we can clearly identify several people from the boat, that later can be found in the pictures released by Turkish coast guard, there is no doubt, it’s the same boat!

These violations of international laws and human rights is happening every single day in the Aegean Sea, it’s well documented, but Europe seems to be looking the other way. That an EU member state are allowed to violate these laws repeatedly, without any reaction from the EU, seems to be no coincidence. How many innocent people must die before we wake up?

2)https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1287519208096636931?s=19&fbclid=IwAR0tSothn0eh4gxgHlaw1O4lgU68G0vS6BP7p2Sf8TPuH-BBfNeSj0DnOSg 

3) https://www.statewatch.org/media/1814/frontex-wg-push-backs-preliminary-report.pdf

2.8 SIR 11860/2020, 27 July 2020

Structured Facts Capture: (14)

  •  On 27 July 2020 a Danish Helicopter deployed to JO Poseidon 2020 detected during a patrol near Chios Island inside Greek Territorial Waters a rubber boat with

people on board.

  •  After the detection, the boat was intercepted by a Hellenic Coast Guard Patrol boat.
  •  After the Hellenic Coast Guard vessel arrived at the scene, the Danish helicopter

left the area to continue border surveillance tasks.

  •  Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Piraeus informed Maritime Rescue Coordination

Centre Ankara.

  • According to the information provided by Greek Authorities, a Turkish (TUR) patrol

boat took over the responsibility of the incident inside TUR Territorial Waters.

  •  According to the mission report of the Danish helicopter, the Hellenic Coast Guard

vessel passed the rubber boat at relative high speed while the rubber boat was

laying still, which was recorded by a Danish helicopter.

  •  The mission report of the Danish helicopter and the Serious Incident Report point

out that there has been a communication between the Danish helicopter and the

Hellenic Coast Guard (International Coordination Centre Coordinator), in which the

Coordinator asked to change the reported coordinates of the incident, in order to

indicate that the incident took place outside Greek Territorial Waters.

  •  This request was refused by the Danish detachment.
  •  According to the DNK mission report, the request from the Hellenic Coast Guard to

change the reported coordinates of the incident was not a case of misunderstanding.

  •  After receiving the respective Serious Incident Report and those accusations, the

ICC Piraeus referred to a misunderstanding and stated that the request to change

the location was only meant additionally including to the initial detection in the Turkish Territorial Waters.

  •  According to the answers provided by Frontex, the incident was classified as an

SIR Category 4.

  •  The incident was never classified as a Search and Rescue case, but reported as a

“Prevention of Departure” in JORA.

Assessment:

After reviewing the data provided by Frontex the incident undoubtedly took place inside

Greek Territorial Waters. The data also clearly state that the incident in question was

not classified as a Search and Rescue case at any time. No available data points to a

different suggestion.

According to the Hellenic Coast Guard, the migrant boat altered its course by its own

will in the direction of Turkish Territorial Waters upon arrival of the Hellenic Coast

Guard vessel on the scene. Since the rubber boat with the migrants had already altered

its course towards Turkish Territorial Waters there was no opportunity for border police

measures and therefore no opportunity for the migrants to ask for asylum.

In the discussion of the SWG, the Hellenic Coast Guard repeated their statement of

miscommunication regarding the change of the coordinates.(15)

After reviewing all received information provided by Frontex, there is no further information available about any measures taken by the crew of HCG vessel and the whereabouts of the boat with migrants. Regardless of the aforementioned, the incident shall

be subject to further examinations by the Working Group especially against the backdrop that the status of the incident is still ongoing (which means that it has not been

closed in Frontex yet).

14 Source: Fact Finding Report by Frontex, p. 12/18 on 24 Nov. 2020; SIR 11860/2020 and questioning Greece as an involved partner.

15 The Danish authorities were not asked by the Working Group to give further evidence on the case.