“Masked men caught taking migrant children off Greek island on EU-funded boats” – World News

Masked men on board EU-funded coastguard boats were caught taking migrant children into open waters after they arrived on a Greek island, according to the BBC.

A BBC investigation has obtained footage from an aid worker who claims to have filmed the moment refugees – including women and babies – were put on a speedboat and driven into the Aegean Sea from the island of Lesbos, before being thrown into an inflatable boat. dinghy in Turkish waters in April 2023.

A documentary, due to be broadcast this evening (Monday), makes a series of shocking allegations about Greece’s treatment of refugees arriving on sunny islands, including claims that migrants were thrown into the sea from coast guard boats. It is also a damning indictment of how Greek and European authorities responded to the sinking of the Adriana boat in June last year, where more than 600 refugees died at sea.

The documentary claims that the Greek coast guard sank the boat while towing it towards Italian waters. Frontex, the European border agency, located the Adriana but did not issue a warning for May 1, the film says, although there were already deaths on board. The rescue mission was ultimately carried out by a Mexican billionaire on a super yacht.

Fayad Mulla said he had heard rumors that masked men were tracking down refugees as they arrived on the Greek islands, attacking them and throwing them into unmarked vans. “At first, it was too much for me to believe,” he tells the film. But he claims to have discovered that Greek police were involved in the kidnappings.

He then found a location on Lesbos where he says he filmed refugees being taken from a white van before being put on a speedboat and transferred to a coastguard boat – then onto a dinghy in the middle of the sea He said while capturing the moment: “It’s a strange feeling to see a crime being committed before your eyes. The so-called protectors of the people. An official Greek investigation is still underway into the incident.

The coastguard boat was co-financed by Frontex. Jonas Grimheden, Frontex’s head of fundamental rights, said they had asked for “clear confirmation” that the incident was unique. Dimitris Baltakos, the former head of special operations for the Greek coast guard, told the documentary when confronted with the evidence that there was “zero chance” that the Greek government would issue the order to the guards. coasts from doing anything illegal.

But the documentary claims that, off-camera, during a break, he was caught saying to a colleague in Greek: “Have I told them too much? It’s crystal clear when you look from the outside. I don’t know why they did it in broad daylight. This is clearly illegal. It is an international crime.