Athens: Hundreds Protest Migrant Pushbacks

On Sunday, hundreds marched in Athens against migrant pushbacks and border violence, following Turkish claims that Greece’s border policies caused the deaths of 19 migrants last week.

Police estimate about 700 people marched from central Athens’ Omonia Square to the Greek parliament’s Syntagma Square.

According to a photographer, they had a life raft similar to the one purportedly used by Greek police to push back asylum seekers from Greek soil.

After a call from leftist and anti-racist groups, protesters gathered and chanted slogans against the “death of migrants at the border” and held banners reading “Stop pushbacks and border violence”.

A minute of silence was observed at Syntagma Square in memory of the refugees who perished.

After finding 19 frozen bodies near the Greek border last week, Turkey claimed Greece had allowed the migrants to pass away in the winter cold after stripping them of their garments and driving them back across the border.

Human rights organizations think that such activities, which have been reported by migrants all over the world, are intended to deter refugees from escaping persecution.

However, migration minister Notis Mitarachi of Greece called Turkish claims of events “false propaganda”. He asserted that these refugees never made it to the Greece border.

Athens consistently dismisses Turkish allegations that it has illegally returned migrants to Turkey.

In response, Greece says that Turkey is violating a 2016 agreement between Ankara and the EU by turning a blind eye to individuals seeking to enter Europe across its border.