World News | Greece says it is investigating claims migrants were illegally deported back to Turkey

ATHENS, May 25 (AP) — Greece’s outgoing prime minister says he has ordered an investigation into a report that authorities illegally deported a group of migrants who arrived on the eastern Aegean island from Turkey, allegedly leaving them behind. On a raft at sea for pickup by Turkish authorities.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis – who will be replaced on Thursday by caretaker prime minister and senior judge Ioannis Sarmas ahead of the June 25 election – has strongly denied that Greece has an official policy of returning newly arrived migrants to Turkey. This illegal deportation is known as refoulement.

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In an interview with CNN late Tuesday, Mitsotakis said he took the alleged incident reported by The New York Times “very seriously.”

“My government is already looking into it,” he said.

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“I have made the distinction many times (reported pushback), which is a completely unacceptable practice, and our obligation, which is … to intercept (migrants) at our maritime border with Turkey and then demand that Turkey The Coast Guard came to pick these people up.”

Greece is the main entry point for migrants seeking a better life in the EU – most entering illegally from Turkey on unseaworthy boats provided by smuggling gangs. Mitsotakis’ government has stepped up patrols and drastically reduced the number of arrivals, but human rights groups and Turkish officials have repeatedly accused them of obstructing the patrols. Athens vehemently denies the claims.

Mitsotakis on Tuesday accused the Turkish coastguard of “pushing forward,” claiming they were “aggressively pushing desperate people onto inflatable boats…out to sea and[push]them beyond territorial waters.”

The New York Times story was based on a video provided by an activist that was made public two days before Sunday’s Greek parliamentary elections – which Mitsotakis’ center-right party won by a wide margin. But he will have to seek new elections in more than a month because electoral laws do not give him a majority.

In early April, the migrants were taken by van to the beach on Lesbos before being taken by speedboat to a Coast Guard vessel, the report said. The coast guard allegedly left the migrants on rafts at sea, from which the Turkish coast guard rescued them and brought them back to Turkey.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Tuesday that the bloc had formally asked Athens to investigate the incident “fully and independently”.

“It is necessary for the Greek authorities to take appropriate follow-up action,” she said, adding that the EU executive branch “stands ready to take formal measures as appropriate.”

Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said on Monday that Frontex, the European Union’s border agency that helps Greece patrol its eastern seas, has officials with the authority to help support an independent inquiry.

“So far we understand they have been unable to identify this specific incident, but they can certainly follow up on any serious incidents that have been reported,” she said.

The Greek Coast Guard did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on the new rebuttal allegations. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)