ATHENS- The European Union’s home affairs commissioner is visiting asylum-seeker facilities on the eastern Greek islands of Samos and Lesbos amid continuing accusations against Greece of illegal summary deportations.
EU commissioner Ylva Johansson and Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi were to hold meetings with local officials on the two islands Monday, and to visit a new camp being constructed on Samos, and a camp on Lesbos in which thousands of asylum-seekers have been living since the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp on the island burned down last year.
Refugee rights organizations and numerous asylum-seekers have accused Greek authorities of conducting pushbacks at sea — the illegal deportation of newly arrived asylum-seekers without giving them the chance to apply for asylum. Greek authorities vehemently deny the claims, with officials insisting they adhere to international law and human rights practices.
The Greek coast guard has been accused of picking up people at sea who are attempting to cross from nearby Turkey into Greece in dinghies, or shortly after they arrive on Greek islands, putting them into life rafts and towing them out to the sea border with Turkey before setting them adrift. Officials have rejected the accusations as fake news and propaganda by Turkish authorities. (AP)