Refugees and migrants trying to cross the European Union’s(EU) land and sea borders in Greece say they have been stripped naked, robbed of their possessions, held at gunpoint and even shot at by Greek police, coastguard and men wearing “black hoods and black or dark-blue uniforms”, in testimony included in a damning human rights report released this week.

Amnesty International said its report “Greece: Frontier of Hope and Fear” contains new evidence of the ongoing, persistent and shameful treatment by the authorities of people risking their lives to find refuge in Europe. This is in direct violation of Greece’s international human rights obligations. The report calls on the European Union to use its power to start legal proceedings against Greece for failing to uphold its obligations.

The human rights organisation says the European Union must sanction Greece for its failure to eradicate the routine and widespread practice of pushing back refugees and migrants arriving at its borders in search of protection, safety and better futures in Europe.

“The treatment of refugees and migrants at Greece’s borders is deplorable. Too often, instead of finding sanctuary, they are met with violence and intimidation. There are cases where they have been stripped naked, had their possessions stolen, and even held at gunpoint before being pushed back across the border to Turkey,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director.

“The people carrying out these push-backs are state agents. As such, the Greek authorities bear full responsibility for their actions. The authorities must openly acknowledge and ensure an end to the illegal and often dangerous practice of push-backs.”

Push-backs are collective expulsions of migrants across the border they have crossed, back to where they came from. They amount to the unlawful deportation of a group of people without consideration of individual circumstances and denying them the possibility to request asylum. Push-backs are explicitly prohibited under Greek, EU and international law.

Between September 2012 and April 2014, Amnesty International spoke to 148 migrants and refugees about their experiences of trying to enter Greece. Just under half of them said they had been pushed-back from Greece to Turkey, sometimes more than once.

Amnesty’s new research shows that the practice of push-backs is routine and widespread. They are happening regularly along the land border in the northeastern Evros region, which is patrolled by thousands of border guards and partly protected by a 10.5km-long fence. Others have been pushed back around the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos in the Aegean Sea.

Amnesty said current EU policies are heavily tilted towards the deterrence and prevention of irregular migration rather than providing protection to those who need it.

The EU Commission allocated €227,576,503 for Greece to keep refugees and migrants out from 2011 until the end of 2013; but only €19,950,000 to assist their reception during the same period.

As Europe builds higher walls, refugees and migrants are taking ever more hazardous routes, Amnesti said. In the Aegean Sea alone, at least 188 people, including children and babies, drowned or went missing between August 2012 and March 2014.

“Greece is a frontier state of fortress Europe, and while states have the prerogative to control their borders, this must never be at the expense of the lives and safety of those desperately seeking protection or simply a better life,” said Mr Dalhuisen.

Source: enetenglish, Amnesty International