Federal police officers were also involved in a controversial operation against migrants in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. This emerges from an internal statement by the Federal Police Headquarters, which was published on Saturday on the authority’s intranet and is available to the German Press Agency in Berlin. “Spiegel” previously reported on the incident with reference to a letter from the head of the EU border protection agency Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, to the EU Commission. “Report Mainz” was also able to see the internal report.
There is a suspicion that there was an illegal expulsion according to international law without prior examination, for example a request for asylum (pushback). If that happened, then according to the federal police, however, after the departure of your own boat. According to the assessment of the Federal Police Headquarters, there was no misconduct by the crew of the German control and patrol boat.
A Greek observation post discovered an object off the island of Samos on the morning of August 10. The Federal Police’s “Uckermark” boat, which was operating as part of the Frontex Poseidon mission, was sent off and encountered a rubber dinghy with around 40 migrants – this is how Frontex boss Leggeri portrays it, according to “Spiegel”, and this is how they describe it Federal Police Headquarters. “The position was clearly in Greek waters,” writes the German authority. The crew did not take anyone on board, but waited for the Greek coast guard. According to the federal police, there was no imminent danger to the life of the migrants.
When a boat of the Greek coast guard arrived, which, according to the federal police, took migrants on board, the “Uckermark” returned to its port on Samos. When the boat of the Greek coast guard, which they had replaced, later ran into the same port, the officials noticed that it had “neither migrants on board, nor a migrant boat in tow,” as the authority writes.
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There were therefore inquiries to the Greek authorities and a report to them and Frontex, while Greece reported “no incidents” for the day. When asked, the international coordination center in Piraeus, which ensures the networking of the participants in Frontex missions, reported “that the event is classified as a” prevention of departure “because the migrant boat after the takeover and detection of the Greek boat changed course again towards the Turkish coast ”.
Official representation of the coordination center contradicts report of the German skipper
The Federal Police complained that the Greek authorities did not make “the progress of the measure” transparent after the departure of the German ship. In addition, the official presentation of the coordination center and the report of the German skipper contradict each other “in essential points”. The difference has not yet been cleared up, what happened after the departure of the German boat is still unclear. A photo taken by the Turkish coast guard two hours after the handover shows, according to “Spiegel”, the rescue of 40 migrants from a rubber dinghy by Turkish security forces.
The German forces were subordinate to Greek authorities as part of the Frontex operation, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. “So far there is no reliable evidence or reliable knowledge that this issue can be viewed as a so-called pushback.” In two weeks’ time, the Frontex Board of Directors will again deal with allegations of pushbacks.
The human rights policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Frank Schwabe, calls for the federal police to withdraw from the Aegean: “Germans are not allowed to participate in pushbacks, not even indirectly. And if Frontex cannot ensure that, the German contingent must be withdrawn, ”he told the“ Spiegel ”.
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There have already been several reports that Greek border guards are driving back inflatable boats with migrants on board in the Aegean Sea towards Turkey.
“Spiegel”, “Report Mainz” and other international media reported in October that Greek border guards are driving back inflatables with migrants on board in the Aegean Sea towards Turkey. They relied on information from those affected and on video recordings. Frontex officials have been nearby on several of these actions since April 2020, according to reports.
In one case, a Frontex ship is said to have initially blocked an overloaded boat with migrants, but did not take in the occupants. Instead, the officers drove past the boat “at high speed” and left the place. Further videos can be seen how the Greek coast guard later pushes the inflatable boat back towards Turkey. In another case, a Frontex surveillance aircraft is said to have flown over the site.
German soldiers have also seen several times in the Aegean Sea how boats carrying migrants are being pushed back into Turkish waters on their way to Greece. According to information from the dpa, three such incidents were documented in June.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Athens of allowing illegal rejections. Athens denies this. (dpa)
